By Katabella Roberts
Contributing Writer
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he hopes peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will continue, though he touted Moscow’s progress in the ongoing conflict, signaling no change in policy despite a looming U.S. sanctions deadline.
Putin spoke to reporters at a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in northern Russia. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday gave the Russian leader 10 days to agree to a cease-fire deal with Ukraine or face a fresh round of sanctions.
Trump had previously given Putin 50 days to agree on a deal with Kyiv and warned of stringent economic consequences against Russia if it failed to reach an agreement to end the more than three-year war.
Putin did not refer to Trump’s new deadline when speaking to reporters but spoke positively of the three sessions of peace talks that have taken place with Ukraine. He said Russia anticipated that further negotiations would take place in the future.
“As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations. This is a well-known general rule,” he said. “But in order to approach the issue peacefully, it is necessary to conduct detailed conversations. And not in public, but this must be done calmly, in the quiet of the negotiation process.”
Putin also touted Russia’s momentum in the war, adding that Moscow’s troops were attacking Ukraine along the entire front line.
He cited claims by Russia’s Ministry of Defence on Thursday that Moscow’s forces had captured the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk Oblast region following a 16-month battle.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the claims were “Russian disinformation.”
In a statement on Telegram, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian units were holding their positions and “every Russian attempt to advance in the Donetsk, Sumy and Kharkiv regions is ultimately being repelled by us.”
Ukraine, for months, has been urging an immediate cease-fire. Russia says it wants a lasting settlement, not a pause.
Three rounds of peace negotiations have been held in Turkey this year, the most recent round occurring on July 23. Talks have yet to result in any meaningful progress toward ending the conflict.
Russia has issued a list of demands to end the war, including that Ukraine withdraw all its forces from four southeastern provinces claimed by Moscow.
As peace talks have remained at a stalemate, Russia has continued to carry out some of its heaviest air strikes since the war began, particularly on Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv.
The strikes have been condemned by Ukraine’s European allies as well as Trump, who in mid-July announced plans to provide Kyiv with military equipment, including Patriot missiles, with the European Union covering the cost.
Trump has given Putin until Aug. 8 to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine or else face new tariffs of up to 100%, along with other measures.
“I will repeat once again, we need a long and lasting peace on good foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and ensure the security of both countries,” Putin told reporters, adding that this was also a question of European security.
Reuters contributed to this report.
