Russian President Vladimir Putin shows that it was open to holding a bilateral meeting on a military strike with Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky days after the US warned that it could “move ahead” from promoting peace talks if negotiations were not going anywhere.
“We need to sort this out, maybe even bilateral,” Putin said when he spoke to journalists on Monday.
“We have a positive attitude towards a ceasefire,” Putin said. “That’s why we’ve always said we’ll take a positive attitude towards peace initiatives. “I hope that representatives of the Kiev government will feel the same way.”
Kremlin top spokesman Dmitry Peskov reported on Monday that Reuters cited Interfax News Agency when Putin said “it is possible to discuss the issue that the president has not in mind the negotiations and discussions with Ukrainian side, including bilaterally.”
Putin called for a short ceasefire with Ukraine on Saturday, but he said it would end on Saturday night. Ukraine is calling for an extension of the ceasefire, accusing the Kremlin of violating a short ceasefire, saying Russians are fired.
On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that if negotiations do not make further progress, the US could “go ahead” by mediating a ceasefire talk between the two Eastern European countries.
“We’ve now reached the point where we need to decide whether this is possible or not,” Rubio told reporters Friday. “If not, I think we just move on.”
“It’s not our war. There are other priorities to focus on,” he said, adding that the decision could be “days.”
Russia and Ukraine have not had any direct consultations on ending the war that has been ongoing for over three years.
The Ukrainian delegation will go to London on Wednesday to participate in peace negotiations with European and US officials Zelensky announcement on monday.
“Already on Wednesday, our representatives are working in London. Ukraine, the UK, France, the US – we are ready to move forward as constructively as possible,” the Ukrainian president said.
