Ready to listen to 'immediate, medium-term' solutions to war: Putin
This comes after Lavrov exhibited Moscow's interest earlier this month in resuming peace talks, but the US seems to contradict itself and show otherwise.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin (Bloomberg)
During a meeting at the operational headquarters, Russian President Vladimir Putin assured that he is open to listening to proposals calling for immediate and medium-term solutions concerning the war in Ukraine.
"Comrade officers, today we will hear from the commanders in each operational direction, and I would like to hear your proposals regarding our immediate and medium-term actions," Putin stated.
On Friday, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov relayed to journalists that the President looked at the work done at the joint headquarters of the Russian military branches, followed by listening to a report on the progress of the war in Ukraine, and concluded by holding meetings with high-ranking officials.
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Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on December 7 that Russia is ready for peace talks with Ukraine if a concrete proposal that is considerate of Moscow's interests is presented.
"If there is now a serious proposal on how to stop this conflict while meeting our absolutely legitimate demands, of course we will be ready to talk," Lavrov said at the 8th Primakov Readings forum in Moscow.
Back in November, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan conveyed the message that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his officials should formulate realistic demands and priorities for talks, possibly reconsidering their stated goal of restoring control over Crimea. It even went further back.
In late September, Putin said Moscow was still open to talks with Kiev and called on Ukraine to stop the hostilities. Zelensky, on his part, stated that Kiev was ready for dialogue with Moscow, but only if another president came to power in Russia.
However, this proves a contradictory stance, as the US said on Friday that it did not believe the time has come for diplomacy and a diplomatic solution that would bring to a grinding halt the suffering of the Ukrainian people.
Sullivan said his country would continue pumping arms into Ukraine while dismissing the need for diplomacy and negotiations to reach a peaceful solution to the crisis.
