Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that peace proposals that had been exchanged by Russia and Ukraine are absolutely contradictory, but according to the Kremlin chief is not surprising. He added that the parties are discussing the possible next round of the negotiations, TASR writes according to the AFP report.
The Russian and Ukrainian delegation exchanged memoranda at peace negotiations in Turkey, in which both sides outlined their ideas about the end of more than three years of war.
According to Putin, Moscow and Kiev negotiators are in constant contact
“As far as the memoranda is concerned, nothing surprising happened as expected … There are two completely contradictory memoranda,” Putin said at a press conference in Minsk, Belarus. According to Reuters, Putin said the hope that the continuing dialogue between the conflict parties will help reduce the differences of the proposals submitted.
According to the Russian President, negotiators of Moscow and Kiev are in constant contact. So far, two rounds of Russian-Ukrainian peace negotiations have been held in Istanbul, Turkey. However, the talks did not lead to a shift to end the war. However, the parties agreed to extensive exchange of prisoners and fallen soldiers. These exchanges took place gradually in recent weeks.
Putin: Relations between the US and Russia are starting to stabilize thanks to Trump
According to Putin, the next round of interviews could take place again in Turkey, although the time and place of the proceedings have not yet been agreed. At the same time, he announced that Russia is ready to hand over to Ukraine another 3,000 captured Ukrainian soldiers.
Sky News reports that Putin also said that Russia and the United States are beginning to converge thanks to US President Donald Trump. He claims that the White House boss “appreciates very much” and is willing to meet him. “In general, thanks to President Trump’s relations between Russia and the United States are beginning to stabilize,” the Russian president said.
The Kremlin chief criticizes the increase in NATO’s defense spending
Putin also said that Russia is planning to reduce military expenses for a long time. He claims that the Russian Federation is exposed to a budget pressure due to increased defense expenditure, which he believes increased inflation. He admitted that Russia spends 6.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) on defense purposes, which is 13.5 trillion rubles (almost EUR 147 billion). “That’s a lot,” the Russian president said.
The Kremlin chief also responded to the increase in NATO’s defense spending to five percent of GDP, on which Member States agreed on Wednesday at the Alliance summit in the Hague. Putin condemned this step as a “aggressive” commitment to members of the North Atlantic Alliance.
