President Vladimir Putin stated in an interview that was aired on Sunday that Russia is willing to dialogue with all parties involved in the conflict in Ukraine but that Kyiv and its Western allies have so far declined to do so.
Since the end of World War Two, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on February 24 has resulted in the deadliest conflict in Europe and the worst standoff between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
The conflict still has a long way to go until it is over.
While Kyiv claims it won’t stop until every Russian soldier is removed from all of its lands, including Crimea, which Russia invaded in 2014, the Kremlin asserts that it will fight until all of its goals are realised.
“We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them – we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are,” Putin told Rossiya 1 state television in the interview.
While most hostilities are resolved by discussion, CIA Director William Burns stated in an interview that was released this month that the agency believed that Russia was not yet serious about a true dialogue to end the war.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s advisor claimed that Putin needed to face reality and admit that it was Russia that was opposed to any dialogue.
Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter that “Russia attacked Ukraine on its own and is killing civilians.” “Russia seeks to evade accountability but doesn’t want discussions.”
Because the West, led by the United States, was attempting to split Russia apart, Putin claimed that Russia was moving in the “right direction” in Ukraine. Washington contests that it is planning for Russia to fall.
“I believe that we are acting in the right direction, we are defending our national interests, the interests of our citizens, our people. And we have no other choice but to protect our citizens,” Putin said.
Upon being questioned about whether the geopolitical war with the West was getting more hazardous, Putin responded, “I don’t think it’s so dangerous.”
Putin said that the Maidan Revolution rallies in 2014, which toppled a pro-Russian president, were the catalyst for the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
Soon after the uprising, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, and separatist groups backed by Russia started battling Ukrainian security forces in the east of the country.
“Actually, the fundamental thing here is the policy of our geopolitical opponents which is aimed at pulling apart Russia, historical Russia,” Putin said.
Putin portrays what he refers to as a “special military operation” in Ukraine as a turning point when Moscow, he claims, finally faced up to a Western bloc that has been trying to destroy it ever since the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991.
Putin, according to Ukraine and the West, lacks legitimacy for what they describe as an occupying war in the manner of imperialism that has caused pain and fatalities throughout Ukraine.
Putin called Russia a “unique country” and asserted that the vast majority of its citizens shared a desire to protect it.
“As for the main part – the 99.9% of our citizens, our people who are ready to give everything for the interests of the Motherland – there is nothing unusual for me here,” Putin said.
“This just once again convinces me that Russia is a unique country and that we have an exceptional people. This has been confirmed throughout the history of Russia’s existence.”
