Ready To Talk To Ukraine But Looking For Trustworthy, President Putin Alludes To Being Deceived After Withdrawing His Troops

Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Source: Aleksey Maishev/RIA Novosti)

JAKARTA - President Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia has never refused to negotiate with Ukraine, unlike Kyiv, but there is one thing he highlighted before the talks materialized.

President Putin underlined that Russia now needs to understand who can be invited to negotiate and who can be trusted by Ukraine, before the two countries hold talks.

He reminded, "never refused to negotiate". However, according to him, it was the politicians in Kyiv who "attracted from the negotiation process" as soon as their troops were withdrawn from Kyiv.

"We were deceived once again," President Putin told reporters following him on a visit to China.

"Now we have to understand who we have to do business with and how. Who and to what extent can we believe. And, of course, we are now analyzing everything that is happening on this track," he said.

President Putin further recalled that when Russian troops were near Kyiv, Western partners insisted they should step down.

"No document can be signed if the opposing party points a gun at your temple," President Putin said, imitating a Western request.

"The next day, they threw our agreement into the trash and said, 'Okay, now we will fight until the end'," he said.

"And their Western advisers are taking a position now known by the rest of the world: Russia must be defeated on the battlefield, having to suffer a strategic defeat. We are not the party who behaves like that," concluded President Putin.