(Dan Tri) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow is ready for a diplomatic solution but that holding negotiations without a solution is `pointless`.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: Reuters).
During a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on April 11, President Putin reiterated that Russia does not deny finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine, explaining that that `is exactly what we do.`
Referring to Switzerland’s plan to organize an international conference in June on peace in Ukraine, Mr. Putin noted that Russia had not been invited.
`They said we refused to negotiate. We were not invited, but they said we refused,` Mr. Putin added.
`They think we have nothing to do there, and at the same time they say that without us nothing can be solved. We won’t go there (so now that event has become a
Switzerland said it will organize a peace conference based on the peace formula of the President of Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials declared that the `10-point peace formula` proposed by President Volodymyr Zelensky should be considered the foundation for any peace talks with Russia to end the conflict.
According to President Lukashenko, the only thing the West can agree on without Russia sitting at the negotiating table is how to `increase escalation`.
`Without Russia, what peace process are we talking about? There can be no peaceful settlement without Russia,` the Belarusian leader declared.
Putin said Russia’s peace efforts led to negotiations in Türkiye in the early stages of the conflict.
The Russian leader recalled that during the talks in Istanbul in March 2022, the Ukrainian delegation initially agreed to some of Russia’s terms.
`We were told that Ukraine could not sign the document and we had to withdraw our troops from Kiev. So we did,` the Russian president said.
According to Putin, Ukraine has now realized that it cannot defeat Russia on the battlefield, but by refusing to negotiate, Kiev has pushed itself into a corner.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law in 2022 declaring peace negotiations with Russia impossible as long as President Vladimir Putin remains in power.
Russia has repeatedly affirmed its readiness in principle to participate in peace negotiations with Ukraine.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that it is willing to participate in negotiations but must be based on `new realities`, in other words, Ukraine must acknowledge the territories annexed to Russia.