President Vladimir Putin said Russia and Ukraine maintain contacts even as he gave little sign that they're making any progress on a peace deal.
“Russia and Ukraine should come to an agreement between themselves first of all,” Putin said Thursday at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. While other countries including the US and China were ready to help, “in the end, and above all, this problem must be solved by the countries involved,” he said.
Contacts with Kyiv are continuing mostly at the level of the security services, though it's difficult to say whether they'd lead to a peace agreement, Putin said.
“Is there a chance? In my view, yes it exists,” he said. Still, Ukraine's threat to disrupt air traffic to Russia “certainly complicates the possibilities for conducting bilateral peace negotiations.”
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US-led peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have stalled since February as President Donald Trump focused on the war with Iran. Russia has intensified missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities after concluding that negotiations are at a dead end in the war that Putin started and which is now deep into its fifth year.
Ukraine has also stepped up attacks deep into Russia. It has struck oil refineries, causing widespread fuel shortages in Russia, defense plants and warehouses of e-commerce giants Wildberries and Ozon, inflicting billions of dollars of damage to logistics networks.
Putin said Russia's contacts with the Trump administration were continuing.
“President Trump, as far as I understand, feels and sees the need for such positive, constructive work,” he said. “I hope it will eventually lead to a positive result.”
Putin reiterated that there are no plans to order another mobilization following parliamentary elections in Russia later this month. Russia recruits about 400,000 people each year to replenish the ranks of the army that has incurred massive casualties in the fighting.
“There is no scenario today that would require mobilization,” Putin said. “This is an information attack from the enemy in the run-up to the elections in the State Duma in an attempt to influence the outcome.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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