Putin, ignoring US deadline, signals no change in Russia's stance on Ukraine
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — Service members of pro-Russian troops ride an armored personnel carrier during Ukraine-Russia conflict on the outskirts of the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 12, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
By Dmitry Antonov
MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Moscow hoped for more peace talks with Ukraine but that the momentum of the war was in its favour, signalling no shift in his stance despite a looming sanctions deadline from Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will impose new sanctions on Moscow and countries that buy its energy exports - of which the biggest are China and India - unless Russia moves by August 8 to end the 3-1/2 year war.
He has expressed mounting frustration with Putin, accusing him of "bullshit" and describing Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine as "disgusting".
Putin, without referring to the Trump deadline, said three sessions of peace talks with Ukraine had yielded some positive results, and Russia was expecting negotiations to continue.
"As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations. This is a well-known general rule," he said.
"But in order to approach the issue peacefully, it is necessary to conduct detailed conversations. And not in public, but this must be done calmly, in the quiet of the negotiation process."
He said Russian troops were attacking Ukraine along the entire front line and that the momentum was in their favour, citing the announcement by his Defence Ministry on Thursday that Moscow's forces had captured the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar after a 16-month battle.
Ukraine denied that Chasiv Yar is under full Russian control.
Ukraine for months has been urging an immediate ceasefire but Russia says it wants a final and durable settlement, not a pause. Since the peace talks began in Istanbul in May, it has conducted some of its heaviest air strikes of the war, especially on the capital Kyiv.
The Ukrainian government has said the Russian negotiators do not have the mandate to take significant decisions and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on Putin to meet him for talks.
"We understand who makes the decisions in Russia and who must end this war. The whole world understands this too," Zelenskiy said on Friday on X, reiterating his call for direct talks between him and Putin.
"The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russia's readiness."
Russia says a leaders' meeting could only take place to set the seal on agreements reached by negotiators.
Ukraine and its European allies have frequently said they do not believe Putin is really interested in peace and have accused him of stalling, which the Kremlin denies.
"I will repeat once again, we need a long and lasting peace on good foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and ensure the security of both countries," Putin said, adding that this was also a question of European security.
Putin was speaking alongside his ally Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, at talks on an island in Lake Ladoga that is the site of a famous Russian monastery.
Russian TV earlier showed the two men greeting monks at the Valaam Monastery, where they have met several times before, and holding candles during the chanting of prayers.
(Additional reporting by Maxim Rodionov and Marina Bobrova; Writing by Mark TrevelyanEditing by Andrew Osborn and Philippa Fletcher // REUTERS)
