‘If we fail to reach an agreement through peaceful negotiations, we will achieve our goals by military means,’ Putin warned.

On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin said that Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are prepared to resume direct talks after June 22.

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He reaffirmed Russia’s openness to dialogue, including a possible meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, Putin raised concerns over the legitimacy of Zelensky’s authority.

“I am ready to meet with anyone, including Zelensky. That is not the issue. If Ukraine entrusts him to negotiate, let it be Zelensky. The real question is: who will sign any resulting documents? We are not dealing with propaganda here; when it comes to serious matters, what matters is not political messaging but legal legitimacy.”

Putin also said that if no peaceful resolution is reached, Russia will pursue its objectives in Ukraine by military means. “Undoubtedly, if we fail to reach an agreement through peaceful negotiations, we will achieve our goals by military means,” he said.

He reiterated that the aim of Russia’s special military operation is the demilitarization of Ukraine, depriving it of the capacity to maintain military forces that could endanger Russia.

During a meeting with the heads of leading international news agencies in St. Petersburg, Putin also confirmed that Russia is prepared to hand over the bodies of an additional 3,000 fallen Ukrainian soldiers.

“We have returned the bodies of 6,000 fallen Ukrainian soldiers. We are ready to hand over approximately 3,000 more. These are, I repeat, sad and tragic figures,” he said

teleSUR/ JF

Source: Xinhua

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