US says Putin’s call to end war in Ukraine insincere

‘Our purpose is to not spin the flywheel of army battle,’ Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned.

Putin in his annual year-end news conference.
The US has described as hole Russian President Vladimir Putin's newest name for an finish to the struggle in Ukraine [File: Alexander Nemenov/AFP]

Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s name for an finish to the struggle in Ukraine has been met with a pointy rebuke from the USA, which mentioned the Russian chief had proven “zero” curiosity in peace negotiations.

“Our purpose is to not spin the flywheel of army battle however, quite the opposite, to finish this struggle,” Putin mentioned on Thursday.

“We are going to attempt for an finish to this and the earlier the higher, in fact,” he mentioned.

“All armed conflicts finish a method or one other with some sort of negotiations on the diplomatic monitor,” he added.

“In the end, any events in a state of battle sit down and make an settlement. The earlier this realisation involves those that oppose us, the higher. We have now by no means given up on this.”

Putin’s feedback got here as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyvisited the White Home and later made a stirring speech to the US Congress the place he mentioned help for Ukraine was an funding in safety and democracy for the whole world.

The US additionally introduced a further $1.85bn in army help for Kyiv to coincide with Zelensky’s first identified journey outdoors of Ukraine since Russia invaded in February.

Washington was swift in response to Putin’s peace feedback.

The White Home’s nationwide safety spokesman John Kirby mentioned Putin has “proven completely zero indication that he’s prepared to barter” to convey an finish to the 10-month-old battle.

“Fairly the opposite,” Kirby instructed reporters throughout a web-based briefing. “Every part he (Putin) is doing on the bottom and within the air bespeaks a person who needs to proceed to go to violence upon the Ukrainian individuals” and “escalate the struggle”.

Kirby mentioned US President Joe Biden was open to a dialogue with Putin however provided that he “confirmed a seriousness about negotiations”.

Kirby’s statements had been echoed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“Basically proper now, Russia has proven no real interest in significant diplomacy, in meaningfully partaking, to convey this struggle to an finish,” Blinken mentioned at a press convention on Thursday, the AFP reported.

The battle, Blinken reiterated, may very well be ended if Russia merely withdrew its troops.

“Within the absence of that, we have now to see some significant proof that Russia is ready to really negotiate a simply and sturdy peace,” Blinken mentioned.

“By simply – one which doesn’t merely ratify one other nation seizing by drive the territory of one other,” he mentioned.

“Sturdy – within the sense that we need to ensure that it holds and that we’re not merely placing Ukraine able the place Russia goes to repeat what it did a month, six months, a yr later,” he added.

Ukraine and its allies have routinely blasted the Kremlin’s statements on peace as hole makes an attempt to stall after months of extended setbacks on the battlefield.

Putin on Thursday additionally minimisedthe Patriot air defence system Biden has pledged to provide to Kyiv.

He described the Patriots as “fairly previous”, in distinction with Russia’s S-300 system and mentioned the Kremlin would search a technique to outmanoeuvre – and “crack” – the subtle surface-to-air missile defence system.

“An antidote will all the time be discovered,” Putin mentioned of the Patriot system.

“So those that do it are doing it in useless. It’s simply prolonging the battle, that’s all.”

Hundreds of Ukrainian civilians have perished and Ukraine’s inhabitants is enduring brutal winter circumstances – with many surviving with out water, energy or warmth amid the Kremlin’s relentless bombardment, which has been hitting “vital infrastructure”, together with energy stations and power provide hubs in areas surrounding the capital and elsewhere within the nation.

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