President Putin: Core solution to Ukraine conflict not yet discussed
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the core solution to the Ukraine conflict had not yet been discussed with Mr Trump.
According to RIA Novosti, in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin, author of the program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" on the Russia 1 TV channel, President Vladimir Putin talked about the negotiations to resolve the problem in Ukraine, Mr. Zelensky's approval rating and the prospects for joint projects with the United States.
Regarding US President Donald Trump and negotiations with Washington, President Putin said that Mr. Trump has full authority to decide on the situation in Ukraine, unlike European leaders.
"He not only says what he thinks, but also does what he wants. Yes, that is the prerogative of the leader of one of the great powers," President Putin said.
According to Mr. Putin, Russia and the United States must take the first step to increase mutual trust to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. However, the core solution to the Ukraine conflict has not yet been discussed with President Trump.
President Putin said that in terms of resolving the problem in Ukraine, Trump's efforts to improve the political situation in Kiev are more beneficial for Ukraine than for Russia. Moscow is not against the preservation of the Ukrainian state, but this territory should not be used as a hostile springboard for Russia. Putin stressed that Russia wants to achieve peace as quickly as possible, and Zelensky is hindering this goal.
"In the current situation, strange as it may seem, we are interested in Mr. Zelensky continuing to sit there and continuing to disintegrate the government. But in the interests of strengthening the Ukrainian state, here, of course, we need to act strongly and in a completely different direction. Put people in power who will be trusted by the Ukrainian people," President Putin said.
Commenting on the Ukrainian president's approval rating, the Russian leader said that Mr. Zelensky had put himself in a dead end by banning himself from participating in negotiations with Russia. According to Mr. Putin, Zelensky is avoiding negotiations on a peaceful solution because as soon as martial law is lifted, he will have to immediately go to the polls.
According to Russian data, Mr. Zelensky's rating is twice lower than that of former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Zaluzhny, so Zelensky's chances of winning the election are zero.
“The current head of the Kiev government is becoming a toxic figure for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as he gives unreasonable orders, not based on military, but on political considerations. At the same time, it is unclear what basis these orders are based on. This leads to huge, unreasonable and catastrophic losses for the Ukrainian army,” President Putin said.
Regarding the rare earth metals agreement and cooperation between Ukraine and the US, President Putin said that this has nothing to do with Russia. In fact, Russia is ready to provide the US with opportunities for cooperation in the field of rare earth metals.
According to President Putin, Russia has much larger reserves of rare earths than Ukraine and is one of the leading countries in rare earth metal reserves. Moscow is ready to cooperate with foreign partners in the field of rare earth metal development, including in new areas.
