Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Aug. 1 that he hopes peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will continue, though he touted Moscow’s progress in the ongoing conflict, signaling no change in policy despite a looming U.S. sanctions deadline.
Putin did not refer to Trump’s new deadline when speaking to reporters but spoke positively of the three sessions of peace talks that have taken place with Ukraine. He said Russia anticipated that further negotiations would take place in the future.
“As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations. This is a well-known general rule,” he said. “But in order to approach the issue peacefully, it is necessary to conduct detailed conversations. And not in public, but this must be done calmly, in the quiet of the negotiation process.”
Putin also touted Russia’s momentum in the war, adding that Moscow’s troops were attacking Ukraine along the entire front line.
He cited claims by Russia’s Ministry of Defence on July 31 that Moscow’s forces had captured the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk Oblast region following a 16-month battle.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the claims were “Russian disinformation.”
Ukraine, for months, has been urging an immediate cease-fire. Russia says it wants a lasting settlement, not a pause.
Russia has issued a list of demands to end the war, including that Ukraine withdraw all its forces from four southeastern provinces claimed by Moscow.
As peace talks have remained at a stalemate, Russia has continued to carry out some of its heaviest air strikes since the war began, particularly on Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv.
“I will repeat once again, we need a long and lasting peace on good foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and ensure the security of both countries,” Putin told reporters, adding that this was also a question of European security.
