Putin says Russia wants to see Ukraine conflict end

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia would like an early cessation of hostilities in Ukraine by peaceful means.

Putin said at a meeting on the results of his talks with US President Donald Trump that Russia respects the position of the US administration, which sees the need for an early cessation of hostilities, and Russia would like to move on to resolving all issues by peaceful means, according to a statement released on Saturday by the Kremlin.

He said his visit to the US state of Alaska was timely and very useful, adding that the talks covered almost all areas of Russia-US cooperation, as well as a possible settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on a fair basis, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said the conversation with Trump was “very frank,” and “brings us closer to the necessary decisions”.

Putin put forward a demand that Ukraine needs to withdraw from the eastern Donetsk region as a condition for ending Moscow’s war with Kyiv during the Alaska Summit with Trump on Friday.

However, the Russian President also told Trump that if his core demands were met, he would be open to freezing the rest of the frontline, according to a media report.

According to the report, Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders on Saturday to communicate Putin’s demand.

He also urged Ukraine and Europe to drop efforts to secure a ceasefire from Moscow.

Russia has been in partial control of the Donetsk region for more than a decade. If Putin’s demand is met, he will get control of the territory where his forces have made the most gains in the war since November last year.

Putin made it clear to Trump that his core demand of addressing ‘the root causes’ of the conflict still stands. He wants NATO’s eastward expansion to end, meaning Ukraine would not be allowed to join the alliance.

But he is reportedly prepared to compromise on other issues, including territory, if he is satisfied that the “root causes” are addressed.

Putin and Trump on Friday wrapped up their talks in the US city of Anchorage in Alaska, but no deal was reached.

The talks, which lasted about three hours, focused primarily on the Ukraine crisis, as well as on reshaping bilateral relations that have largely stalled in recent years.

Putin told Trump that in exchange for Donetsk and Luhansk, he would halt further advances and freeze the frontline in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where Russian forces occupy significant areas.

Russian forces control about 70 per cent of the Donetsk region. Ukraine still has control over the region’s westernmost chain of cities, which are said to be critical to Kyiv’s military operation and defences along the eastern front.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he would not swap territory with Russia and would not allow a second partition of the country.

He is meeting Trump on Monday in Washington, where this topic will certainly come up.

–IANS