Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Moscow hopes that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will continue, but the war is developing in its favor and there will be no change in its position despite the upcoming deadline for the entry into force of sanctions announced by Washington, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
US President Donald Trump said he would impose new sanctions on Moscow and countries that buy its energy products - the largest consumers of which are China and India - if Russia does not take steps to end the war by August 8.
He expressed his growing disappointment with Putin, accused him of talking “nonsense” and called the latest Russian attacks in Ukraine “disgusting“.
Putin, without mentioning Trump's deadline, said that the three rounds of peace talks with Ukraine had yielded some positive results and that Russia expected the talks to continue.
“As for disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from excessive expectations, as is known, this is a general rule“, Putin pointed out.
“But in order to reach a peaceful resolution of the issue, it is necessary to hold detailed talks, and not publicly, but calmly, in the silence of the negotiation process“, he added.
According to him, Russian troops are attacking in Ukraine along the entire front line and the war is developing in their favor. He also cited a statement from the Defense Ministry yesterday that Moscow’s forces had captured the Ukrainian town of Chasov Yar after 16 months of fighting. Ukraine has denied that Chasov Yar is under full Russian control.
Ukraine has been calling for an immediate ceasefire for months, but Russia says it wants a final and lasting agreement, not a pause. Since the start of peace talks in Istanbul in May, Russia has carried out some of the heaviest air strikes since the start of the war, particularly in the capital, Kiev.
Ukraine and its European allies have often said they do not believe Putin is genuinely interested in peace and accuse him of deliberately wasting time. The Kremlin denies these accusations.
“I will repeat again that we need a long and lasting peace with good foundations, which will satisfy both Russia and Ukraine and guarantee the security of both countries“, Putin said, adding that this is also a matter of European security.
The Russian president also announced today that the first batch of serially produced Oreshnik ballistic missile complexes is already in service with the Russian army.
"Serial production is already underway. The first serially produced Oreshnik missile complex is already at the disposal of the Russian troops," the Russian leader was quoted as saying by TASS.
Putin said this at a joint press conference with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. He met with his ally on an island in Lake Ladoga, where there is a Russian monastery.
"Our specialists - both Belarusian military specialists and Russian ones - have selected places for future missile launchers. Work is currently underway to prepare these positions," the Russian president explained.
Russian television earlier broadcast footage showing the two presidents greeting monks at the Valaam Monastery and holding candles during prayer. Putin and Lukashenko have met at the monastery before.