Putin open to dialogue, but pullout rider sticking point

New Delhi, December 2

Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to talks on a possible settlement in Ukraine and believes in a diplomatic solution. But the US’ refusal to recognise the annexed territories as Russian hinders the chances of compromise, said the Kremlin.

End war first: Biden

It’s sick what he’s doing. But the fact of the matter is, I have no immediate plans to contact Mr Putin. He is — let me choose my words very carefully — I’m prepared to speak with Mr Putin if in fact there is an interest in him deciding he’s looking for a way to end the war. He hasn’t done that yet. — Joe Biden, US Prez

‘More than 10,000 Ukrainian troops killed’

• Quoting military chief, top adviser to Ukraine’s president, Mykhailo Podolyak, said 10,000 to 13,000 soldiers had been killed in ongoing war against Russia
• The Ukrainian military has not confirmed the figures. In August, the head of the armed forces said that nearly 9,000 military personnel had been killed. ap

The comments came in response to US president Joe Biden, speaking beside French president Emmanuel Macron, stating that the only way to end the war was for Putin to pull troops out and if he (Putin) was looking to end the conflict then he would be prepared to speak to the Kremlin chief.

“The President of the Russian Federation has always been, is and remains open to negotiations in order to ensure our interests,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, adding that the US refusal to recognise “the new territories” as Russian was hindering a search for any potential compromise. “This significantly complicates the search for mutual ground for discussions,” he said.

Biden was speaking during a state visit to Washington by French President Emmanuel Macron, who has warned against cutting off the Russian leader. At a joint news conference with Macron, Biden said, “the fact of the matter is, I have no immediate plans to contact Mr. Putin’’ but added, “I’m prepared to speak with Mr. Putin if in fact there is an interest in him deciding he’s looking for a way to end the war. He hasn’t done that yet.”

“If that’s the case, in consultation with my French and my NATO friends, I’ll be happy to sit down with Putin to see what he has in mind,” he had added.

Moscow also said Putin has no regrets on invading Ukraine.