Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia is not against Europe's involvement in Russia-US talks aimed at finding a solution to the conflict in Ukraine, but stressed that Brussels had long rejected dialogue with Moscow.
During an interview with Russian state television, Putin also said that US President Donald Trump is approaching the Russia-Ukraine conflict rationally and not emotionally.
Russia and the United States held an initial round of talks on Ukraine last week in Saudi Arabia. Ukraine and Kiev's European allies were not invited, prompting strong reactions from their leaders.
Russian President Putin said it was logical for Europe to participate in talks to resolve the three-year conflict.
"Their participation in the negotiation process is necessary. We never rejected this, we held continuous discussions with them," he said.
He said the negative reactions to the talks in Riyadh have been "emotional and contrary to any kind of logic."
The Russian leader said that the drastic change in Washington's policy toward Ukraine under President Trump, including criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and suggestions that Kiev may not regain all of its lost territory, was not based on emotional reactions.
President Trump, he said, was acting logically and without the constraints of promises to Ukraine made by European leaders.
US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron showed sharp differences earlier Monday in their approach to Ukraine, highlighting differences between the United States and Europe over Mr. Trump's proposal for a quick ceasefire deal with Russia.
President Trump expressed his desire to reach a ceasefire as soon as possible and said he was trying to facilitate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. He said he might go to Moscow to meet with Putin once a ceasefire agreement was reached.
President Macron, on the other hand, called for a stronger approach, starting with a ceasefire and then a peace agreement that would include security guarantees./ VOA