Moscow, Russia – Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia and Ukraine’s demands for peace were “absolutely contradictory”, after two rounds of peace talks have failed to bring the sides closer to an elusive ceasefire.
“That’s why negotiations are being organised and conducted, in order to find a path to bringing them closer together,” he said.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Russia’s offensive, which has forced millions from their homes and devastated much of eastern Ukraine.
At talks, Russia has demanded Ukraine cede even more land and give up Western military support as a precondition to peace — terms Kyiv says are unacceptable.
Putin has repeatedly rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire and has escalated his aerial attacks as his army advances across the battlefield, capturing more territory beyond the five Ukrainian regions Russia claims to have annexed.
He said the two sides would “continue further contact” after prisoner exchanges agreed at the June 2 talks had been completed.
The two sides have conducted several swaps since agreeing to each free more than 1,000 captured soldiers — all wounded, ill or under 25.
Russia is also ready to hand over the bodies of 3,000 killed Ukrainian soldiers, Putin said.
He also acknowledged some economic pressure from the military campaign, which has seen Russia massively increase its spending on weapons and soldiers.
“6.3 percent of Russia’s GDP goes on defence needs. That is 13.5 trillion rubles ($172 billion),” Putin said.
“It’s a lot,” Putin said, acknowledging it had the potential to create headaches for the government budget.
“We paid for it with inflation, but now we are fighting this inflation,” he added.
At the press conference following a meeting with allies in Belarus, Putin also denounced the “aggressive” pledge by NATO members to increase their defence spending to five percent of GDP.
