\u2018All armed conflicts end one way or another with some kind of negotiations\u2019, says Russian president
\n moscow
\nPresident Vladimir Putin said that Russia wants an end to the war in Ukraine and that this would inevitably involve a diplomatic solution.
\nPutin made the comments a day after US President Joe Biden hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the White House and promised him continued and unwavering US support.
\n\u201cOur goal is not to spin the flywheel of military conflict, but, on the contrary, to end this war,\u201d Putin said. \u201cWe will strive for an end to this, and the sooner the better, of course.\u201d
\nWhite House spokesperson John Kirby said Putin has \u201cshown absolutely zero indication that he\u2019s willing to negotiate\u201d an end to the war, which began when Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on Feb 24.
\n\u201cQuite the contrary,\u201d Kirby told reporters during an online briefing. \u201cEverything he (Putin) is doing on the ground and in the air bespeaks a man who wants to continue to visit violence upon the Ukrainian people\u201d and \u201cescalate the war\u201d.
\nKirby reiterated that Biden was open to talks with Putin, but only after the Russian leader \u201cshowed a seriousness about negotiations\u201d and after consultations with Ukraine and US allies.
\nRussia has persistently said it is open to negotiations, but Ukraine and its allies suspect a ploy to buy time after a series of Russian defeats and retreats that have swung the momentum of the 10-month war in favour of Kyiv.
\n\u201cI have said many times: the intensification of hostilities leads to unjustified losses,\u201d Putin told reporters.
\n\u201cAll armed conflicts end one way or another with some kind of negotiations on the diplomatic track,\u201d he added. \u201cSooner or later, any parties in a state of conflict sit down and make an agreement. The sooner this realisation comes to those who oppose us, the better. We have never given up on this.\u201d
\nRussia says it is Ukraine that is refusing to talk. Kyiv says Russia must halt its attacks and give up all territory it has seized.
\nPutin also played down the significance of the Patriot air defence system that Biden agreed to supply to Zelenskiy, saying Russia would find a way to counter it.
\nHe said it was \u201cquite old\u201d and did not work like Russia\u2019s S-300 system. \u201cAn antidote will always be found,\u201d he said, boasting Russia would \u201ccrack\u201d the Patriots.
\n\u201cSo those who do it are doing it in vain. It\u2019s just prolonging the conflict, that\u2019s all.\u201d
\nPutin also said a price cap imposed on Russian oil by Western countries, designed to limit its ability to fund the war, would not damage the Russian economy. He said he would sign a decree early next week to set out Russia\u2019s response.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2018All armed conflicts end one way or another with some kind of negotiations\u2019, says Russian president moscow President Vladimir Putin said that Russia wants an end to the war in Ukraine and that this would inevitably involve a diplomatic solution. Putin made the comments a day after US President Joe Biden hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303129,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-303107","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n