Russia generally agrees that the list of points in the US plan on Ukraine could form the basis for future agreements, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Kyrgyz media today.
"We must seriously and literally discuss the peace plan for Ukraine. Recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea and Donbass should be one of the main points in negotiations with the United States," Putin said, reiterating his skepticism about the Ukrainian government.
"Russia wants to reach an agreement with Ukraine, but this is currently legally impossible," the Russian president said, adding that his country, unlike Ukraine, held elections during wartime.
The Russian president stated that Moscow has no plans to attack European countries, adding that if Europe wants a guarantee that it will not be attacked, then Russia is ready to provide such a guarantee.
"Everything should be formulated in diplomatic language. Because it's one thing to say that Russia does not plan to attack Europe. For us, this sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? We have never planned such a thing. But if they want to hear this from us, we can put it on paper. No problem," Putin said.
"If they (European politicians) have scared their citizens to the point that citizens want to hear that we have no aggressive plans towards Europe, then no problem, we are ready to put it on paper," he said, while explaining that he is hosting American negotiators in Moscow next week.
In fact, in this context, referring to Steve Witkoff, he said that he "defends the positions of his president (Trump)", while discussions with him are taking place in calm tones, "without insults and extremes". He then confirmed that Abu Dhabi has been chosen as the venue for the meeting and negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives, adding that the presence of a representative from Washington "came as a surprise".
The Russian president also spoke about developments on the ground in Ukraine, noting that the Ukrainians lost 47,000 soldiers in October alone and that there are "high levels of desertion" in the Ukrainian army. In this context, he clarified that the clashes will end when the Ukrainians withdraw from their positions.
"If Ukrainian troops withdraw from the territories they currently occupy, then will we cease hostilities? If they do not withdraw, we will achieve this by military means," the Kremlin chief declared.
When asked about Sergei Lavrov and the scenarios that supposedly took the power of Russian diplomacy out of his hands, due to the negative development of the planned meeting with Trump in Budapest, Putin categorically denied them and described them as "nonsense", saying that the Russian Foreign Minister is preparing to meet with American negotiators.
In a comment he made about Russian assets that are "frozen" in Europe, he said that their seizure is "theft" and added that Moscow is preparing its response.
The Russian president also spoke about leaked conversations between his adviser, Yuri Ushakov, and Steve Witkof, saying they could be "fake news" or wiretapped. In fact, he said he has a long-standing relationship with the American negotiator, adding that "it would be strange if he cursed us with vulgar expressions in his conversations with Ushakov."
In addition, he was asked about nuclear tests, throwing the ball into Washington's court and adding that Moscow would be ready to carry them out if necessary.
"Preparing for real nuclear weapons tests takes time, and we certainly cannot find ourselves in a situation where this will have been done in the US, while we will still need a year and a half to prepare. Therefore, we must think about this already. We did not start this, but we must be ready for any development of events. And, I assure you, we will be ready."