Russia’s launch of a special military operation is not the beginning of a conflict, it is an attempt to end it. Moscow has never objected to doing this through peaceful means, but this is hampered by Kyiv’s position. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated this on October 16 in an interview with the China Media Corporation, the text was published on website Kremlin.
Thus, the Russian leader first recalled the preconditions for the crisis in Ukraine created by the United States in 2008. Then Washington announced that it was waiting for Kyiv to join NATO. Putin wondered why this was done. The situation escalated year after year until it led to the crisis of 2014, and then the escalation reached a new level
“So the start of a special military operation is not the beginning of a war, it is an attempt to stop it. As for ending this conflict through peaceful means – and we have never objected to this. Moreover, we even agreed in Istanbul at one time that we are ready for this while ensuring Russia’s legitimate interests in the security sphere. And so the Ukrainian side drew such a very strict framework for itself. We practically agreed with this, but as soon as our troops retreated to the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, the Ukrainian side immediately threw these agreements into the oven,” Putin recalled.
After this, he continued, Kyiv decided that it would seek Moscow’s defeat on the battlefield. However, as Putin noted, since the start of his counteroffensive – June 4 – he has suffered only heavy losses without achieving any results.
“We know the offer of our Chinese friends and highly appreciate it. I believe that they are quite realistic and could be used as the basis for peace agreements, but unfortunately the other side does not want to conduct any negotiations. How to negotiate with them if they don’t want to?” – Putin emphasized.
Earlier, on October 5, the Russian leader said that the special operation was launched in order to end the war in Ukraine, which began back in 2014 and is now in its tenth year.
He recalled that it was not Russia that intimidated the Crimeans and Sevastopol residents with ethnic cleansing, and that it was not Russia that tried to force the Donbass into obedience through shelling and bombing.
Back in June, Putin also indicated that Russia was forced to use the army in an attempt to stop the war started by the Kyiv regime in 2014. He added that, with the support of Western partners, the Kiev regime used aviation, tanks, and artillery in the northwest against Donbass.
The last round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. They lasted about three hours. Later, Kyiv officially abandoned contacts with Moscow. On October 4 of that year, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky enacted the decision of the country’s National Security and Defense Council on the impossibility of holding negotiations.
The special operation to protect the region, the beginning of which Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of a worsening situation in the Donbass due to increased shelling by Ukrainian troops.
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