Vladimir Putin recalled that Kiev had previously talked about its desire to sit at the negotiating table, but that desire disappeared as soon as Russian troops withdrew from the Ukrainian capital
Kiev lost its desire to negotiate as soon as Russian troops withdrew from the Ukrainian capital. Russian President Vladimir Putin said this at a press conference after his visit to Astana.
The Russian leader recalled that Kiev had previously said that it wanted to negotiate, but now it has made a decision that forbids it.
“I, for my part, as you know, speaking in the Kremlin when making a decision on the subjects of the Federation, said that we were open, we even reached certain agreements in Istanbul. These agreements were almost initialed. As soon as the troops withdrew from Kiev, the Kiev authorities immediately lost the desire to negotiate, and that was it,” Putin said.
At the same time, Putin stressed that if Kiev is ripe for negotiations, then mediation efforts of all those who are interested in this may be required.