Vladimir Putin says Russia “never rejected talks” with Ukraine in response to a suggestion by the U.S. that Moscow was stalling discussions.
In a joint news briefing with Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi, Russia, Mr Putin said: “We never rejected talks, and if the other side wants them, it’s welcome, to say it flatly, like I’m saying now.”
The Russian President said a decree signed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy last year banning negotiations with Mr Putin’s government was blocking any such discussions.
“We’re not hearing [anything regarding the talks] from the other side,” Mr Putin said.
Also while answering a question, the Russian leader said that cluster munitions are used in the widest possible way on the battlefield by Ukraine.
“They are being used, and in the widest possible way. But I have already commented on this. I have nothing to add,” he said.
The cluster munitions issue, he believes, “reflects perfectly what is happening in the world as a whole.”
“What I mean is this: there is one country that thinks it is exceptional – the United States,” Putin explained. “Even what it considers to be a crime, it takes the liberty of doing itself. In fact, the U.S. is using cluster munitions in this case, with the Ukrainians’ hands,” he pointed out.
Putin noted that Washington considered the use of such munitions as a crime, but at the same time “it feels free to do it, and this is the main problem of today’s international relations.”
He is certain that for this reason a vast majority of participants in international communication were working together with Russia for the creation of a multipolar world, because almost no one is satisfied with such a state of affairs.
“I say ‘almost’ because even those countries which are allies of the United States, I assure you, do not like this situation, either. They don’t like being treated as backstage extras,” Putin said.
“Yes, they [U.S.) use [cluster munitions], unfortunately. They themselves call it a crime and keep doing it,” Putin concluded.