Putin, "we are trying to end the conflict with Ukraine"

Russia is committed to ending the conflict in Ukraine. This was reiterated by the leader of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, speaking to the press at the end of the informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Council in the Leningrad region. Ria Novosti reports it. AND Slovakia has come forward as a place to host possible peace negotiations between the two countries. “Slovakia is ready,” Putin declared, referring to his recent meeting with Prime Minister Robert Fico and explaining that Moscow is not against such a hypothesis.

In any case, Moscow always intends to respond “in a mirror-like manner to Kiev’s attacks on Russian territory”. The Kremlin leader was clear on this: “They use certain weapons against us, we use the same ones.” Putin said that five to seven Atacms missiles were used on the territory of the Federation. “The Russian army responded with a complex attack with high-precision long-range weapons.” The Russian president also revealed that his American colleague Joe Biden in 2021 offered him to postpone Kiev’s membership of NATO. Regardless, Russia will continue to pursue and achieve all objectives of the special military operation in 2025 and achieve success on the front line. “Of course, we start from the fact that we will complete all tasks of the special military operation. This is generally the number one task,” Putin told reporters. “We will achieve success on the front line,” he added, saying he keeps abreast of the situation on the ground “day and night.”

Sergei Lavrov also had his say on the crisis between Ukraine and Russia, explaining that Moscow hopes that the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump will analyze the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict and is ready for consultations to explain its position. “I sincerely hope – said the Russian Foreign Minister – that Mr. Trump’s administration, including Mr. Kellogg, will analyze the root causes of the conflict. We are ready for consultations and for yet another confirmation of our position, which has been repeatedly expressed loud and clear: we are open to any negotiation if it is substantive and addresses the fundamental causes and principles, which President Putin defined in June this year,” Lavrov said in an interview with Russian and foreign media.

Statements by Keith Kellogg, Trump’s appointed special envoy to Ukraine, that the Minsk agreements were “a failed attempt” to resolve the conflict, suggest that he “has yet to delve into the Ukrainian dossier,” Lavrov said. “Perhaps, Mr. Kellogg should look into this matter in more detail. The Minsk agreements were not an attempt but a decision of the United Nations Security Council that was trampled upon.”