President Putin: Dialogue needed to peacefully resolve Ukraine conflict

According to RIA Novosti, at a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Valaam on August 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about the prospects for resolving the Ukrainian conflict, assessed Kiev's position and spoke about the successes of the Russian Armed Forces in the special military operation.

Regarding Ukraine, President Putin said that all disappointments arise from excessive expectations. Negotiations are needed and it is important to have dialogue to resolve the issues peacefully.

According to Mr. Putin, the results of the meetings between Russia and Ukraine were positive: Moscow handed over thousands of bodies of dead soldiers to Kiev and received dozens of its own dead, as well as the parties exchanged prisoners.

In addition, President Putin said that Ukraine's initial reaction to the proposal to create dialogue groups was positive, but they are not yet operational. Meanwhile, Russia's conditions remain unchanged - to eliminate the root causes of the conflict. Russia's main goal is to ensure its own security.

“These are not even conditions, these are goals: I have formulated Russia's goals. But until now, until that moment, we were told that it was not clear what Russia wanted. We outlined these preconditions in June 2024 at a meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Everything was clear there,” said President Putin.

According to Mr. Putin, if Kiev believes that it is still necessary to continue fighting with Russia, Moscow can wait. And it is necessary to discuss steps to establish a lasting peace without time limits.