Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with the official Russia 1 channel that Russia would be ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the Ukrainian war. In addition, Putin accuses Kyiv and its Western allies of “rejecting” any form of negotiations. That writes Reuters.

“We are ready to negotiate acceptable solutions with all concerned,” Putin said. After all, we are not the ones to refuse negotiations.

Read also | Putin: Russia wants to end the war in Ukraine

He added that Russia is moving “in the right direction” with regard to Ukraine, because the US-led West will only aim to drive Russia apart. “We only defend our citizens and the interests of our citizens,” Putin said. “We have no choice but to protect them.”

This is not the first time

This is not the first time that Moscow has said it is open to negotiations, but Kyiv and its partners expect that Putin’s statements are only meant to buy time after a series of Russian losses and withdrawals on the battlefield.

However, the Russian president said he wanted to seek an end to the war and that diplomatic negotiations were guaranteed.