Vladimir Putin finally admits he doesn’t want ‘war forever’ as Kremlin official hints peace talks

According to Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, the Russian leader doesn’t want the devastating conflict in Ukraine to last forever and is ready for peace talks. The possibility was discussed during a meeting with a Turkish diplomat in Moscow.

Turkey and its President Tayyip Erdogan have been repeatedly pushing for and offering to host negotiations ever since the start of the conflict.

The latest development comes after Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow and his renewed call for the parties to initiate the talks.

What does Vladimir Putin want?

Vladimir Putin has reportedly declared a willingness to open negotiations with NATO over Ukraine during a meeting with İbrahim Kalın, the Presidential Spokesperson of Turkey.

The Kremlin's representative, Dmitriy Peskov, announced that during the meeting the Russian leader admitted that he was not looking to escape talk over Ukraine indefinitely, and was prepared to enter into talks to end the conflict which has left thousands dead and displaced millions of people.

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Vladimir Putin's main demand is that the negotiations be conducted with the USA and the West, especially with Germany.

The Russian President said:

However, the West must also take into account our conditions.

Can China help the peace talks?

The latest development comes as Chinese leader Xi Jinping once again called for peace talks over Ukraine after French President Emmanuel Macron appealed to him to ‘bring Russia to its senses’. Although the politician gave no indication Beijing would use its leverage as Vladimir Putin's diplomatic partner to press for a settlement.

He said:

Peace talks should resume as soon as possible.

Beijing, which sees Moscow as a partner in opposing the US domination of global affairs, has tried to appear neutral in the conflict. But as Xi received an effusive welcome from Vladimir Putin when he visited Moscow last month, he gave the isolated Russian president a political boost.

The Chinese leader insists on ‘legitimate security concerns of all parties’ being considered - a bow to Russia's argument that it attacked Ukraine because of the eastward expansion of NATO.

Xi’s position seems to remain unchanged after Emmanuel Macron earlier appealed for his help to him to bring everyone back to the negotiating table, pointing to Chinese support for the United Nations Charter, which calls for respect of a country’s territorial integrity.

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Sources used:

- Express: ''We don't want war': Putin declares he's ready for NATO negotiations to end Ukraine terror'