VLADIMIR Putin claims he wants a “lasting peace” with Ukraine and says he’s ready to meet Donald Trump.
The Russian tyrant spoke for four hours in a question and answer session on Thursday at the Kremlin.
APRussian President Vladimir Putin said he wants a ‘lasting peace’ with Ukraine[/caption]
BackGridDonald Trump met with Volodymyr Zelensky at the opening of the Notre Dame[/caption]
APUkrainian soldiers take up position in a trench[/caption]
Despite waging war on Ukraine and targeting civilians with missiles and drones, Vlad now says he wants harmony with Kyiv.
Putin said he was ready to meet Trump – who has pledged to end Russia’s invasion with a quick peace after he takes office.
He said the pair would “have things to discuss” but said Trump had not contacted him yet.
Putin said: “Politics is the art of compromise. We have always said that we are ready for both talks and compromise.”
Despite Ukraine’s Herculean efforts at holding back the Russian army, Putin said he believed the country would soon give up.
Putin claimed: “Soon, those Ukrainians who want to fight will run out, in my opinion, soon there will be no one left who wants to fight.
“We are ready, but the other side needs to be ready for both negotiations and compromises…”
He said that a ceasefire would only allow “the enemy to strengthen its troops” and give Kyiv a chance to bring in reinforcements and ammunition.
That’s change of tune from his hard line on Ukraine saying he wouldn’t negotiate and that parts of Ukraine that he had seized were parts of Russia.
Tyrant Vlad claimed that peace talks should be based on the “situation on the ground” – where Russia controls parts of Ukraine.
Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions had fraudulent referendums carried out in 2022 saying they were “independent” of Ukraine.
In reality, Russian soldiers held civilians at gunpoint in the sham votes as Putin sought to grow his Russian empire.
In Thursday’s Q&A session Putin admitted he should have invaded earlier and Russia should have been “prepared for it in advance and more thoroughly”.
The dictator also claimed that his bungled invasion, which he thought would capture Kyiv in three days, had made Russia stronger.
AlamyPutin smiles as men hold a Marine banner behind him[/caption]
GettyUkrainian soldiers fire a mortar at Russians[/caption]
He said: “Russia has become much stronger over the past two or three years because it has become a truly sovereign country.
“We are standing firm in terms of economy, we are strengthening our defence potential and our military capability now is the strongest in the world.”
In response to Putin’s comments, Zelensky said: “Do you think he is a sane person?”
In the four-hour interview, Putin also appears to slip up on live TV and confirm he has two secret children.
He revealed he enjoys watching films with his “little ones” in a bizarre annual call-in amid claims he has a pair of young sons with Olympic gymnast lover Alina Kabaeva.
Rumours over secret sons have surrounded the despot for years after independent journalists uncovered a potential fresh family growing.
The unverified claims say the ageing tyrant and long-term partner Kabaeva – a woman decades younger than him – actually have boys already.
Ivan, 9 and Vladimir, 5, are said to be the latest two additions to the Putin family tree.
He has never confirmed these children with the Kremlin officially stating he has just two daughters – Maria Vorontsova, 39, and Katerina Tikhonova, 38.
ReutersPutin and Trump met in 2019[/caption]
East2WestAlina Kabaeva – who Putin is believed to have two sons with[/caption]