Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to meet with Ukraine and invited President Volodymyr Zelensky to Moscow, where he promised Russia to provide “security.”
“Listen, the Ukrainian side wants this meeting and is proposing it,” Putin said at an Economic Forum in the Far East of Russia on Friday (5).
“We are ready for the highest level meetings … I’m ready, please come. We will definitely provide working conditions and safety. Hundred percent warranty,” he said.
“I repeat once again, if anyone really wants to gather with us, we are ready. The best place for this is the capital of the Russian Federation, the Russian leader added.
Putin also said that there is no reason for troops and that his potential adherence to the political and military alliance is completely unacceptable to Russia.
“If any troops appear there, especially during hostilities in progress, we assume that they will be legitimate targets for defeat,” he added.
“And if decisions are made that lead to lasting peace, then I simply see no reason for their presence in Ukrainian territory.
Understand the war in Ukraine
Russia began the large -scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and currently has about one fifth from the territory of the neighboring country.
Still in 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed the annexation of four Ukrainian regions: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizehzia.
The Russians slowly advance through the east and Moscow gives no signs of abandoning their main war goals. Meanwhile, Donald Trump, president of the United States, pressures for a peace agreement.
Ukraine has made increasingly bold attacks within Russia and says the operations aim to destroy essential infrastructure of the Russian army.
Putin’s government, in turn, intensified air attacks, including drones offensive.
Both sides deny target civilians, but thousands died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainians.
Thousands of soldiers are also believed to have died on the front line, but neither side releases numbers of military lows.
The United States claim that 1.2 million people were injured or killed in the war.
