After Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that he wants an end to the war in Ukraine, the US called his remarks reflected “absolutely zero indication that he’s willing to negotiate” an end to the war. The comments from the Russian President comes a day after his US counterpart Joe Biden hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the White House and promised him continued and unwavering US support.
According to Reuters, Putin said, “Our goal is not to spin the flywheel of military conflict, but, on the contrary, to end this war,” adding, “We will strive for an end to this, and the sooner the better, of course.” Reacting to the remarks, White House spokesman John Kirby said, “Everything he (Putin) is doing on the ground and in the air bespeaks a man who wants to continue to visit violence upon the Ukrainian people” and “escalate the war”, Reuters reported.
The spokesman reiterated that President Biden is open to a dialogue with Putin provided the Russian leader “showed a seriousness about negotiations” and after consultations with Ukraine and US allies.
Russia claims Ukraine refusing peace talks
The war between the two countries started in February this year after Moscow sent troops to Ukraine. The war has been going on since the last 10 months and Russia has persistently said it is open to negotiations but claims that the Ukrainian side is refusing to participate in it.
“I have said many times: the intensification of hostilities leads to unjustified losses,” Putin told reporters, the Reuters report stated. The Russian leaders claimed that they have been emphasising on diplomatic talks as a solution to end the war. Putin said he believes “any parties in a state of conflict sit down and make an agreement” at some point. “The sooner this realization comes…the better,” Putin further said. Kyiv, on the other hand, said that Russia must first halt its attacks and give up territory it has seized, Reuters reported.
Zelenskiy’s historic US visit
The remarks by the Russian leader comes after the Ukrainian President visited the US in his first foreign trip since the conflict began in February. Zelenskiy told Congress that his country was “alive and kicking” and supporting it was an investment in global security.
He got a hero’s welcome on Wednesday’s trip, where President Biden committed nearly $1.8 billion in military supplies including the Patriot missile defence system.
(With Agency Inputs)