Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to negotiations to end his country’s war in Ukraine, Kremlin officials said Saturday, though the prospects for talks remain dim amid Moscow’s insistence that any resolution includes recognition of its territorial claims in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media over the weekend that Mr. Putin seeks a “peaceful” resolution to the conflict but signaled that any ceasefire hinges on the West offering significant concessions to Russia.
Such a scenario so far has been a non-starter for Ukraine, the U.S. and NATO.
“President Putin has been, is, and will be open to any contact in order to attain our objectives by other means than the special military operation. If it is possible, it would be preferable,” Mr. Peskov told Russia’s Rossiya-1 TV station on Saturday.
His comments come amid continued fighting in eastern Ukraine, particularly in and around Bakhmut, which Russian troops say they control even as Ukrainian military officials say fighting continues on the outskirts of the city.
Elsewhere across the Donbas, Russian forces are reinforcing their defensive positions in preparation for a major Ukrainian counteroffensive.
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Observers have been awaiting that counteroffensive for months. It is expected to be a potential turning point in the war, one that could give Ukraine more leverage at the negotiating table if it can push Russian troops out of key areas.
Ukraine proved its ability last fall to conduct just such an operation, as its first counteroffensive recaptured Kharkiv, Kherson and other cities formerly under Russia’s grip.
But even if Ukraine finds some success in its second major counteroffensive, Moscow appears unwilling to budge from its position that any peace deal includes recognition of Russian control over several provinces in the Donbas.
Mr. Putin last year declared those territories to be a part of Russia and even installed pro-Russian puppet governments on the ground. The validity of those governments has been roundly rejected internationally.
Amid the fighting, U.S. officials signaled over the weekend that they believe Mr. Putin should indeed pursue peace talks and give up his territorial claims in eastern Ukraine. They argue that the war so far has been a disaster for Russia’s military, its economy and its status on the world stage.
“President Putin wanted to build Russia up as a global, economic power. His invasion cemented his long-running failure to diversify Russia’s economy, to strengthen its human capital, to fully integrate the country into the global economy. Today, Russia’s economy is a shadow of what it was, and a fraction of what it could have become had Putin invested in technology and innovation rather than weapons and war,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday during a speech in Finland.
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“Now, as I’ve made clear, by virtually every measure, President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has been a strategic failure. Yet while Putin has failed to achieve his aims, he hasn’t given up on them,” Mr. Blinken said. “He’s convinced that he can simply outlast Ukraine and its supporters, sending more and more Russians to their deaths, inflicting more and more suffering on Ukraine’s civilians. He thinks that even if he loses the short game, he can still win the long game. Putin is wrong about this, too.”
The Biden administration has maintained that it is up to Ukraine to decide when and how to engage Russia in direct peace negotiations.
Ukraine’s looming counteroffensive, if successful, would give Kyiv more bargaining power in such talks.
As the world waits for that offensive to begin, Ukrainian officials say they’re still fighting for control of Bakhmut, which has been the site of the war’s most fierce fighting over the past several months.
“The battle for the Bakhmut area hasn’t stopped. It is ongoing, just taking different forms,” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said over the weekend.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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