According President Vladimir Putin, Russia is ready to consider any options for peace agreements with Kyiv to resolve the Ukraine crisis based on the realities on the ground, adding that it will not agree to anything else.
This came as the Russian President summarized the BRICS Summit at a news conference.
He noted that the Russian Army has been advancing on all sectors of the line of engagement in the special military operation zone, while as many as 2,000 enemy troops have been encircled in the Kursk area.
He assured reporters that everybody in BRICS is seeking to put an end to the Ukraine conflict as soon as possible, preferably by peaceful means.
Regarding peace talks, the Russian leader said that “the ball is in Kyiv’s court.”
However, he added that the “ringleaders of the Kyiv regime” have refused to negotiate as, among other reasons, they would have to cancel martial law and hold an election.
Also, Putin said that allegations that Russia refuses to revive dialogue with European countries are just lies.
“We have never refused to do so, nor are we refusing now. If some wish to resume relations with us, they are welcome. We keep saying so all the time. But we are not being obtrusive.”
Vladimir Putin
Putin attributed destabilization inside the EU to what he termed erroneous policies being pursued by the European elites. He rejected corresponding Western accusations against Russia as rubbish.
“This [destabilization] is a net effect of the domestic policies in these states…As a popular saying goes here, it’s an attempt to put one’s own blame at somebody else’s door and to shirk responsibility for wrong decisions in the economy or domestic policies.”
Vladimir Putin
Additionally, he criticized NATO’s expansion as unfair. He accused the west of using Ukraine to “create critical threats to Russia’s security.”
“We know what is being done and how in launching unmanned speedboats in the Black Sea. We know who is present there, what European countries of NATO these people come from, and how they go about doing this job.
“The same applies to instructors and military servicemen. And the same applies to the use of high-precision weapons, including ATACMS, Storm Shadow and other missiles. Ukrainian soldiers cannot use them without space reconnaissance, target setting and Western-made software. They can do this only with the direct participation of officers from NATO countries.”
Vladimir Putin
Guterres Criticized For Meeting Putin
Meanwhile, Russian opposition figure, Yulia Navalnaya slammed the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, for meeting Vladimir Putin.
Navalnaya is the widow of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition figurehead who died as a Russian political prisoner in February.
Posting a photo of Putin greeting Guterres, Navalnaya said on X, “It was the third year of the war, and the UN secretary general was shaking hands with a murderer.”
The UN Secretary General used his speech to call for a “just peace.”
In a brief passage on Ukraine, Guterres stated, “We need peace in Ukraine, a just peace in line with the UN charter, international law and the [UN] general assembly resolution.”
“We must uphold the values of the UN charter, the rule of law and the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all states.”
Antonio Guterres
Also, Guterres urged members of BRICS not to see the organisation as an alternative to the UN, saying, “No single group and no single country can act alone or in isolation. It takes a community of nations, working as one global family, to address global challenges.”
The Ukrainian foreign ministry has criticised Guterres over the meeting, especially since he rejected an invitation to attend a Ukrainian-sponsored peace summit this summer.
READ ALSO: NPP’s Stance on Speaker’s Declaration of Parliamentary Seats Vacant Inconsistent- Haruna Iddrisu
