KIEV (Reuters) December,2 – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Ukraine was “open for negotiation” but that the West must accept Moscow’s demands. I’m looking for a way to end the war.
Following Thursday’s meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House, Biden said that if the Russian leader is “actually interested in deciding that he is looking for a way to end the war,” said, “I haven’t done it yet.” not that yet”.
Biden has not spoken directly to Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. In March, Biden branded Putin “unable to stay in power” and a “butcher.”
Now, after more than nine months of fighting and with winter tightening its grip, Western countries are trying to boost aid for Ukraine as it reels from Russian missile and drone attacks targeting key energy infrastructure that have left millions without heating, electricity and water.
Fighting is raging in eastern Ukraine, with the town of Bakhmut the main target of Moscow’s artillery attacks, while Russian forces in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions remain on the defensive, Ukraine’s General Staff said in its latest battlefield update.
In a bid to reduce the money available for Moscow’s war effort, the European Union has tentatively agreed to a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil, diplomats said. The measure will need to be approved by all EU governments in a written procedure by Friday.
In Moscow’s first public response to Biden’s overture, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters:
“The president of the Russian Federation has always been, is and remains open to negotiations in order to ensure our interests.”
However, Peskov said the U.S. refusal to recognise annexed territory in Ukraine as Russian was hindering a search for ways to end the war. Moscow has previously sought broad security guarantees, including the withdrawal of NATO’s eastward expansion.
According to the Kremlin, Putin called Prime Minister Olaf Scholz in a phone call on Friday, saying the Western route to Ukraine was “disruptive” and asked Berlin to reconsider its actions, the Kremlin said. rice field.
In a Berlin statement on the call, a von Scholz spokesman said the chancellor had condemned Russian airstrikes on civilian infrastructure and called for a diplomatic solution to the war “including the withdrawal of Russian forces.”
Separately, the German government has confirmed that it is preparing to hand over seven Gepard tanks to Ukraine, in addition to his 30 anti-aircraft tanks already in service against Russian forces.Â
Putin said he does not regret launching a “special military operation” aimed at disarming and “de-Nazi” Ukraine. He describes the war as a turning point after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, when, after decades of humiliation, Russia finally rose up against the arrogant West.
Ukraine and the West argue that Putin cannot justify a war of imperial occupation that has killed thousands of civilians. Kyiv says it will fight until the last Russian soldier is expelled from its territory.
In a joint statement after Thursday’s meeting, Biden and Macron committed to holding Russia accountable for “well-documented atrocities and war crimes committed by both Russian regular forces and agents” in Ukraine. said it does.
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Friday it was “outraged” by the French foreign ministry’s statement. The statement supports plans by the European Union to set up a tribunal to try crimes allegedly committed by Russia in Ukraine.
Following Thursday’s meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House, Biden said that if the Russian leader is “actually interested in deciding that he is looking for a way to end the war,” said, “I haven’t done it yet.” not that yet”.
Biden has not spoken directly to Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. In March, Biden branded Putin “unable to stay in power” and a “butcher.”
Now, after more than nine months of fighting and with winter tightening its grip, Western countries are trying to boost aid for Ukraine as it reels from Russian missile and drone attacks targeting key energy infrastructure that have left millions without heating, electricity and water.
Fighting is raging in eastern Ukraine, with the town of Bakhmut the main target of Moscow’s artillery attacks, while Russian forces in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions remain on the defensive, Ukraine’s General Staff said in its latest battlefield update.
In a bid to reduce the money available for Moscow’s war effort, the European Union has tentatively agreed to a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil, diplomats said. The measure will need to be approved by all EU governments in a written procedure by Friday.
In Moscow’s first public response to Biden’s overture, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters:
“The president of the Russian Federation has always been, is and remains open to negotiations in order to ensure our interests.”
However, Peskov said the U.S. refusal to recognise annexed territory in Ukraine as Russian was hindering a search for ways to end the war. Moscow has previously sought broad security guarantees, including the withdrawal of NATO’s eastward expansion.
According to the Kremlin, Putin called Prime Minister Olaf Scholz in a phone call on Friday, saying the Western route to Ukraine was “disruptive” and asked Berlin to reconsider its actions, the Kremlin said. rice field.
In a Berlin statement on the call, a von Scholz spokesman said the chancellor had condemned Russian airstrikes on civilian infrastructure and called for a diplomatic solution to the war “including the withdrawal of Russian forces.”
Separately, the German government has confirmed that it is preparing to hand over seven Gepard tanks to Ukraine, in addition to his 30 anti-aircraft tanks already in service against Russian forces. Putin said he does not regret launching a “special military operation” aimed at disarming and “de-Nazi” Ukraine. He describes the war as a turning point after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, when, after decades of humiliation, Russia finally rose up against the arrogant West.
Ukraine and the West argue that Putin cannot justify a war of imperial occupation that has killed thousands of civilians. Kyiv says it will fight until the last Russian soldier is expelled from its territory.
In a joint statement after Thursday’s meeting, Biden and Macron committed to holding Russia accountable for “well-documented atrocities and war crimes committed by both Russian regular forces and agents” in Ukraine. said it does.
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Friday it was “outraged” by the French foreign ministry’s statement. The statement supports plans by the European Union to set up a tribunal to try crimes allegedly committed by Russia in Ukraine.
