Russian President Vladimir Putin once again declared Russia’s readiness to end the war, but, as before, did not name any specific terms for this. During a meeting with media representatives of the BRICS member countries in Moscow, Putin noted that Russia is ready for peace talks, but only on the basis of the so-called Istanbul Agreements, which were discussed at talks between representatives of Russia and Ukraine back in March 2022.
Putin stressed that Russia is not interested in a temporary truce that will last a week, a month or even a year. According to him, Russia needs “conditions of durable peace”, which, in his opinion, can be achieved only through the implementation of these agreements.
“Russia is ready to conduct a dialogue on a peaceful end to the conflict in Ukraine, but only on the basis of the Istanbul Agreements“, Putin said.
At the same time, he emphasized that if there is no progress on the way to an agreement, Russia is “ready to continue the fight”, expressing confidence that victory will be on the side of the Russian Federation.
When asked about a possible timeline for the end of the war against Ukraine, Putin refused to give a specific answer. Instead, he advised turning to NATO countries to find out “when they get tired of fighting Russia.” Putin also noted that setting deadlines in such matters is a “difficult and counterproductive” matter.
Despite these statements, Putin reiterated that Russia is interested in ending the conflict as soon as possible, but his conditions for this remain unwavering — a return to the Istanbul Agreements, which provide for concessions from Ukraine.
