Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday there was still a chance to end the war in Ukraine through negotiations “if common sense prevails,” but warned he was prepared to resolve it by force if necessary.
Speaking in Beijing at the end of a visit to China, Putin said he would be ready to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy if he came to Moscow, though he questioned whether such a meeting would be worthwhile. He repeated his view that Zelenskyy, whose term expired under martial law, was illegitimate.
Putin said he saw “a certain light at the end of the tunnel,” citing sincere efforts by the United States under President Trump to find a settlement to Europe’s biggest land war since World War Two. “It seems to me that if common sense prevails, it will be possible to agree on an acceptable solution to end this conflict. That is my assumption,” he told reporters, adding that if not, “we will have to resolve all the tasks before us by force of arms.”
He stressed he had never ruled out meeting Zelenskyy but insisted such talks would have to be prepared in advance and deliver concrete results. “As for a meeting with Zelenskyy I have never ruled out the possibility of such a meeting. But is there any point? Let’s see,” Putin said.
