Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia wanted 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 welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House and promised him “continuous and unwavering support” from the US.
“Our aim is not to turn the wheel of military conflict, but rather to end this war,” Putin said. “We will strive to end this, and the sooner the better, of course.”
White House spokesman John Kirby said Putin “has shown absolutely no indication that he is willing to negotiate” an end to the war, which began when Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
“On the contrary,” Kirby told reporters during a briefing online. “Everything he (Putin) is doing on the ground and in the air indicates a man who wants to continue to apply violence to the Ukrainian people” and “escalate the war”.
Kirby reaffirmed that Biden was open to negotiations with Putin, but only after the Russian leader “shows seriousness in the negotiations” and after consultations with Ukraine and US allies.
Russia has persistently said it is open to negotiations, but Ukraine and its allies are suspicious of a ploy to buy time after a series of Russian defeats and withdrawals that have shifted the momentum of the 10-month war in Kiev’s favour.
“I have said many times: the intensification of hostilities leads to unjustified losses,” Putin told reporters.