JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to negotiations about Ukraine, but the West must accept Moscow's demands, the Kremlin said on Friday, a day after US President Joe Biden said he was willing to speak up if President Putin sought ways to end the war.
President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron said after talks at the White House on Thursday they would hold Russia accountable for its actions in Ukraine.
In Moscow's first public response to President Biden's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "The president of the Russian Federation has always been, is being and remains open to negotiations to ensure our interests," Reuters reported December 2.
Peskov said the United States' refusal to recognize Russia's "new territory" was blocking the search for potential compromise.
"This significantly complicates the search for a common basis for discussion," Peskov said.
Asked if the way President Biden framed potential contacts meant negotiations were impossible from a Russian point of view, Peskov said: "In essence, that's what (President) Biden said. He said that negotiations were only possible after (President) Putin left Ukraine."
The Kremlin, Peskov said, could not accept it and Russian military operations would continue in Ukraine.
As previously reported, President Biden said he smoked to talk to President Putin, "if he's actually interested in leaving, he's looking for ways to end the war."
President Biden has not spoken directly to President Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. In March, President Biden called President Putin a "carp of meat" who "cannot stay in power".
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