President Vladimir Putin has rejected claims that Russia intends to invade other countries as “lies” and “complete nonsense” and said he is ready to give written guarantees that Russia will not attack other European countries.
President Vladimir Putin attended a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led military alliance that includes some former Soviet states, in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek on Thursday, where he claimed that the Russian government was planning an attack on Europe, calling it “ridiculous.”
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“The truth is, we had no intention of doing so. But if they want to hear from us, we will document it. There is no doubt about it,” the Russian president told reporters.
President Putin’s denial that Russia is planning a new invasion has been met with skepticism from European leaders, who point to the fact that, prior to the February 2022 invasion, Putin had repeatedly denied Russia had invaded Ukraine.
In response to a question about efforts to end the war in Ukraine, Putin expressed optimism about the U.S.-backed draft peace plan, saying it could become “the basis for a future agreement.”
Putin said Russia was ready for “serious” talks to end the war, but also warned that Russia was ready to continue fighting and occupy more Ukraine if necessary.
He reiterated that a basic precondition for ending the fighting is the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, including leaving areas not currently controlled by Russian forces.
“Ukrainian forces must withdraw from the territories they currently occupy, and then the fighting will stop. If they do not withdraw, we will achieve this by military means,” he said.
Ukraine said such a withdrawal would open the way for a Russian attack on the capital Kiev.
“The president has lost his legitimate position.”
Putin also signaled he was open to a negotiated solution with Kiev, but once again stigmatized the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, adding that it was “legally impossible” to reach any deal with them.
“In general terms, of course, we ultimately want to reach an agreement with Ukraine, but at the moment this is virtually impossible,” Putin said, repeating his previous unsubstantiated claim that Kiev had lost the right to govern because it was unable to hold elections when Zelensky’s presidential term expires in May 2024.
Putin added: “The Ukrainian leadership, fearing the presidential election, made a fundamental strategic mistake. Since then, the president has lost his legitimate position.”
Kiev insists it cannot hold elections while it defends its territory from Russian attack under martial law. In February, members of Ukraine’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a resolution confirming the legitimacy of Zelenskiy’s continued appointment.
President Putin also argued that any peace agreement must be recognized by the international community, citing the injustice of Zelensky’s regime, and that the international community should also recognize Russia’s interests in Ukraine.
Ukrainian Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak reiterated on Thursday that Zelensky “has no intention of leaving the territory.”
“As long as Mr. Zelenskiy is president, no one should expect us to give up territory,” Yermak told The Atlantic magazine.
Last week, the United States unveiled a 28-point peace plan for Ukraine, which was widely seen as highly favorable to Russia. It demanded significant concessions from Kiev, including ceding territory and abandoning its NATO ambitions.
Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kislysha said that the plan had since been changed due to Ukrainian input, and the 600,000-member cap on Ukrainian troops and a general war crimes amnesty were abolished.
On Thursday, President Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian delegation would meet with Washington officials to develop a formula discussed at previous talks in Geneva to bring peace and guarantee security to Kiev.
He did not provide further details, but added that further discussions would take place next week.
U.S. representatives, including Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, are also scheduled to visit Moscow next week to continue talks on key issues, including security in Ukraine and Europe.
Putin said his delegation intended to raise his “key issues” with the U.S. delegation, specifically a section of the peace plan that he said was intended only for the U.S. to recognize Russia’s de facto control over Crimea and other Ukrainian territory that Russia claims as its own.
President Putin said, “That is exactly the content of the talks with the American side.”
