RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin said he assumed that his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky has the freedom to negotiate a settlement to the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kyiv.
When tucker asked if Putin thinks Zelenskyy has the freedom to negotiate a settlement in the conflict, Putin answered:
“I don’t know. Of course, it’s hard for me to judge the details there, but I think he has, at least he had. His father fought against the fascists, with the Nazis during World War II, I once talked to him about it.
I said: ‘Volodya, what are you doing? Why are you supporting neo-Nazis in Ukraine today when your father was fighting fascism? He’s a war veteran.’ I will not say what he replied, this is a separate topic, and I think it is incorrect, but as for freedom of choice – why not?”
According to the Russian leader, Zelenskyy has changed his policy in the process of governing the state.
“He came to power on the expectations of the Ukrainian population that he would lead Ukraine to peace.”
“That’s what he was talking about – he won the elections with a huge advantage due to this, but then, when he came to power, in my opinion, he realized two things.
“Firstly, it is better not to quarrel with neo-Nazis and nationalists, because they are aggressive and very active – you can expect anything from them. And secondly, the West, led by the United States, supports them and will always support those who are fighting Russia – it is profitable and safe,” he added.
The Russian president also mentioned that the head of Ukraine’s negotiated team had recently admitted that Ukraine was, at one point, ready to reach a deal with Russia, but after a visit by former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Kyiv authorities stopped pursuing a deal with them.
He also mentioned Ukrainian Politician Davyd Arakhamia, leader of the presidential faction in the RADA, the one who publicly alleged that Johnson stopped the peace agreements between Russia and Ukraine following the talks in Turkiye in late march 2022.
“He [Davyd Arakhamia] still sits there. He even put his preliminary signature on this document, which I am telling you about, but then he publicly declared to the whole world: ‘We were ready to sign this document, but Mr Johnson, then the Prime Minister of Great Britain, came, dissuaded us from this and said it was better to fight with Russia. They will give us everything so that we can regain what we lost during the clashes with Russia. And we agreed to this proposal.’ Look, his [Arakhamia’s] statement has been published, said Putin.
The Russian president also mentioned that Zelenskyy had already banned negotiations with Russia by signing a decree in 2022, forbidding anyone from the Ukrainian Government to negotiate with its Mocsow counterpart.
“We hear all the time: is Russia ready, is it ready? We did not refuse! They publicly refused. Well, let him cancel his decree and enter into negotiations. We have never refused,” Putid said.
Putin also stressed that Russia has always been ready to negotiate with Ukraine regarding the conflict, and that it never refused Kyiv.
“Mr. Arakhamia said, ‘a year and a half ago we could have stopped these hostilities, stopped this war, but the British persuaded us and we’ve given up on that.’ Where is Mr. Johnson now? And the war continues,” said Putin.
“That’s a good question. Why did he do that?” Tucker Carlson, U.S. Journalist:
“Who knows, I don’t understand it myself. It was the general attitude. For some reason, everyone has the illusion that Russia can be defeated on the battlefield – because of arrogance, because of a pure heart, but not because of a great mind,” said Putin.
