HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — Multiple European officials said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not interested in negotiating to end the war in Ukraine.
Representatives of the United Kingdom, Finland and Estonia claimed during a press conference in Belgium that Putin still wants to control Ukraine, although he has said he would try to compromise with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told reporters before a meeting with members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, that Putin is trying to escalate the war despite allied efforts for peace.
“There is talks that we will have today, the discussions we’ll have today are all very clear, that we’ve seen two presidents are seeking peace: President Trump and President Zelenskyy. But so far all we have seen from President Putin is an attempt to escalate war,” she said.
The National News Desk requested comment from the Kremlin but has not received a response. Putin has said he is willing to negotiate, however, and had a meeting with American negotiators on Tuesday. One of the Russian president’s aides, Yuri Ushakov, reportedly said after the meeting that the talks were very productive.
“We could agree on some things, and the president confirmed this to his interlocutors,” Ushakov said, according to The New York Times.
“Other things provoked criticism, and the president also made no secret of our critical and even negative attitude toward a number of proposals. But the main thing is that a very useful discussion took place.”
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen rejected the idea Russia is willing to compromise, though. She told reporters that Putin hasn’t made any concessions.
“It looks like Russia is not willing to make any compromise, and they still are looking to achieve the full goals which they started to go after with this full-scale invasion in the first place, which was full subjugation of Ukraine,” Valtonen said.
Russia has tried to acquire significant portions of Ukrainian territory through negotiations. Ushakov reportedly noted that some of the U.S.’s proposals on the matter looked “more or less acceptable,” although he added that other suggestions weren’t good enough.
“There is still a lot of work to be done, both by Washington and by Moscow,” The New York Times quoted him as saying.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Russia’s actions on the battlefield show that Putin has not changed his priorities. The Russian president has been more aggressive in fighting Ukraine, Tsahkna explained.
Russia has reportedly made incremental gains in Ukraine in recent weeks.
Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.