JAKARTA - President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russia would be ready to talk to Ukraine, the United States, and Europe about Kyiv's future if they wanted it, but Moscow would defend its national interests.
President Putin has repeatedly said he will be ready to talk about peace, although Western officials say he is awaiting a US Presidential election in November next year before making serious efforts.
"In Ukraine, those who are aggressive towards Russia, and in Europe and the United States, do they want to negotiate? Let it go. But, we will do it based on our national interests," President Putin said at a defense leadership meeting in Moscow.
"We will not give up on us," he stressed, adding that Russia had no intention of fighting with Europe.
Russia took control of about 17.5 percent of the internationally recognized territory as part of Ukraine when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, and last year said four additional areas in Ukraine partially controlled by its troops were part of Russia.
On the other hand, Kyiv said it would not stop until every Russian soldier was expelled from Ukraine.
President Putin spoke at a defense ministry meeting attended by top military officials, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian military Chief of Staff General Valery Gerasimov, and Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov.
Russian troops, said President Putin, now have initiatives on the battlefield.
"We will not ignore the objectives of this particular military operation," he explained, though he added Russia needed better military communications, reconnaissance, targeting and satellite capabilities.
He also said Russia's defense industry responded more quickly than the Western defense industry said Russia would continue to increase its nuclear power and maintain its combat readiness at a high level.
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Meanwhile, Defense Minister Shoigu said Russian tank production had increased since February 2022 by 5.6 times, unmanned aerial vehicles by 16.8 times and artillery shells by 17.5 times.
He also said Russia had recruited 490,000 contract soldiers and volunteers by 2023. Next year, Russia will try to increase the number of contract soldiers to 745,000 people.
President Putin also added that Ukraine's membership in NATO was "unacceptable by Russia in 10 years, and not in 20 years".
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