The Russian president said that the prospects of a peace agreement in Ukraine will become increasingly dim if the conflict continues.
President Vladimir Putin has challenged the West to try to defeat Russia “on the battlefield” and said Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine marks a shift to a “multipolar world”.
The Russian leader said on Thursday that Russia has barely started a war in Ukraine and has dared to let the West try to defeat the country in the war, stressing that Moscow remains open to the idea of wars. peace negotiations.
In a hawkish speech on Thursday to congressional leaders, more than four months after Moscow invaded UkrainePutin said that the prospects for any talks would dim as the conflict dragged on.
“Today we heard that they wanted to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say? Let them try,” Putin said.
“We have heard many times that the West wants to beat us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is moving towards this,” he said.
Russia accuses the West of waging a proxy war against it by inflicting sanctions on the Russian economy and increasing the supply of advanced weapons to Ukraine.
However, while boasting that Russia is only moving forward in the war, Putin also mentioned the possibility of negotiations.
“People should know that overall, we haven’t started anything seriously yet,” he said.
“At the same time, we do not reject peace talks. But those who refuse them should know that the further they go, the harder it is for them to negotiate with us.”
Mr Putin said it was clear that Western sanctions were creating difficulties, “but absolutely not what the initiators of the economic campaign against Russia are relying on”.
Putin’s comments were the first diplomatic reference in weeks after repeated statements from Moscow that negotiations with Kyiv had completely broken down.
Since invading Ukraine on February 24, Russian forces have captured many parts of the country, including completing the capture of the eastern region of Luhansk on Sunday.
However, progress by Russian forces was much slower than many analysts had anticipated, and they were repelled in initial efforts to capture the capital Kyiv and Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv.
The prospect of compromise seemed far-fetched as Ukraine, emboldened by Western support and the heavy losses it inflicted on its adversary in terms of both men and equipment, pushed Russia out. out of all the territories they have occupied since 2014.
Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter this week that the conditions for the resumption of talks with Moscow would include the following: “Ceasefire. Z-armies retreat. Return of kidnapped citizens. Extradition of war criminals. Compensation mechanism. Recognition of Ukraine’s sovereign rights. “
Parliamentary leaders responded to Putin’s comments on Thursday to A Just Russia’s Sergei Mironov, encouraging him to set up a special body to facilitate the unification of states. occupied Ukrainian territory into Russia – an idea Mr. Putin promised to discuss.
