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Vladimir Putin has described initial contacts with the Trump administration as “inspiring a certain degree of hope”, his most positive remarks since US-Russia talks began on ending the war in Ukraine.
Putin’s comments came as Russian and US diplomats met in Istanbul on Thursday, discussing the terms of re-establishing diplomatic relations that had been severed when the Russian president ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
“There is a mutual willingness to work towards restoring intergovernmental relations and addressing the vast number of accumulated systemic and strategic problems in the global architecture . . . that triggered both the Ukrainian crisis and other regional conflicts,” Putin said at a meeting with the leadership of the FSB intelligence service.
His comments come as US President Donald Trump has adopted many of the Kremlin’s views, clashing with Ukraine and its European allies at the UN and within the G7 over calling Russia the aggressor.
The first round of US-Russia talks, held in Saudi Arabia last week, “lay the groundwork for future co-operation”, including re-establishing economic ties that had been cut by western sanctions, restoring embassy operations and setting up working groups on the terms of a ceasefire in Ukraine.
In his speech, Putin said the dialogue and prospective end to the conflict had been made possible by the “courage and resilience” of Russian troops and their “daily victories” in Ukraine.
Trump last week said Russia had “taken a lot of territory, so they have the cards” in any peace deal with Ukraine. He also called Zelenskyy a “dictator” and blamed him for Russia’s invasion and for not ending the war sooner.
European countries have condemned this stance, fearing that Trump will push for a ceasefire deal that favours Russia.
On Thursday, Putin claimed that “western elites” were intent on “maintaining global instability”. “These forces will try to disrupt or discredit the dialogue that has begun,” he said.
The leaders of France and Britain, who visited Trump on separate occasions this week, have been crafting a joint plan outlining the possible deployment of a European “reassurance force” in post-war Ukraine, primarily based on air power and supported by the US.
But Trump has so far refused to commit to such an American “backstop” that would act as a deterrent against any future Russian aggression — even as he claimed Putin told him he would not oppose a European deployment to post-war Ukraine. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday denied that Russia had endorsed such a plan, saying that “nobody asked Moscow about this”.
Russia is not considering any role for European peacekeepers in Ukraine, Lavrov has said, despite claims from Trump that Moscow had agreed to the idea.
Lavrov said during a visit to Qatar on Wednesday that “nobody asked Moscow about this”, according to state newswire RIA Novosti. He said US and Russian representatives would meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss removing restrictions against each other’s embassies.
Russia would not accept a settlement along the current frontline because Moscow had laid claim to more Ukrainian territory than it currently controls, he added.
Lavrov also ruled out any deal that allowed for Ukraine to be “pumped up with [western] weapons again” and said Russia wanted “what remains of Ukraine” to scrap “racist laws” restricting the Russian language and Russian culture.
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