President Vladimir Putin has said he is ready to guarantee in writing that Russia will not attack another European nation, as he dismissed claims that Moscow intends to invade another country as a “lie” and “complete nonsense”.
Speaking on Thursday in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek – where he attended a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a Russia-led military alliance that includes some former Soviet republics – Putin branded claims Moscow is planning to attack Europe as “ridiculous”.
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“The truth is, we never intended to do that. But if they want to hear it from us, well, then we’ll document it. No question,” the Russian president told reporters.
Putin’s denials that Moscow is planning another invasion have been met with scepticism from European leaders, who point to the fact that he repeatedly denied Russia would invade Ukraine before doing so in February 2022.
Responding to questions about efforts to end the war in Ukraine, Putin expressed optimism about a draft United States-backed peace plan, saying it could serve as the “basis for future agreements”.
While Putin said Russia is ready for a “serious” discussion to end the war, he also warned that Moscow was prepared to fight on if necessary and take over more of Ukraine.
A basic prerequisite to end the fighting, he reiterated, was that Ukrainian troops withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, including leaving areas that Russian troops do not currently control.
“Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the territories they currently hold – then the fighting will stop. If they do not pull back, we will achieve this by military means,” he said.
Ukraine has said that such a withdrawal would leave the way open for a Russian assault on its capital, Kyiv.
‘The president has lost his legitimate status’
Putin also suggested that he was open to a negotiated settlement with Kyiv, but once again branded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government illegitimate, adding that it was “legally impossible” to sign any agreements with them.
“Broadly speaking, of course, we ultimately want to reach an agreement with Ukraine. But right now, this is practically impossible,” Putin said, repeating previous unfounded claims that Kyiv had lost the right to govern after failing to hold elections when Zelenskyy’s presidential term expired in May 2024.
“The Ukrainian leadership made a fundamental strategic mistake when it feared presidential elections, because since then, the president has lost his legitimate status,” Putin added.
Kyiv has maintained it could not hold elections while under martial law and defending its territory against Russian attacks. In February, lawmakers in Ukraine’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a resolution affirming Zelenskyy’s legitimacy to stay in office.
Putin also claimed that, due to the Zelenskyy government’s purported illegitimacy, any peace deal must be recognised by the international community, and that the international community must also recognise Russian gains in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, reiterated on Thursday that Zelenskyy “will not sign away territory”.
“As long as Zelenskyy is president, no one should count on us giving up territory,” Yermak told US magazine The Atlantic.
Last week, the US revealed a 28-point peace plan for Ukraine that was widely viewed as extremely favourable to Russia. It called for Kyiv to make major concessions, including ceding territory and abandoning its NATO ambitions.
The plan has since been altered with Ukrainian input, Ukrainian First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya said, nixing a 600,000-member cap on Ukraine’s army and a general war crimes amnesty.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian delegations are set to meet with Washington officials to work out a formula discussed at previous talks in Geneva to bring peace and provide security guarantees for Kyiv.
He added, without providing details, that there would be further talks next week.
US representatives, including Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, are also set to travel to Moscow next week to continue discussions on key issues, including security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe.
Putin said his delegation intends to raise its own “key issue” with the US delegation, specifically a passage in the peace plan stating that Washington only intends to recognise Russia’s de facto control over Crimea and other Ukrainian territory, which Moscow claims as its own.
“That is precisely what our talks with the American side will be about,” Putin said.