Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that he believes his country’s conflict with Ukraine is coming to an end.
“I think the issue is coming to an end,” he said, referring to the “special military operation” in Ukraine, while condemning Western support for the Kyiv government.
Putin spoke to reporters after a scaled-down military parade in Moscow’s Red Square to commemorate the Soviet victory in World War II.
Russia’s annual celebration lacked the usual display of tanks and missiles due to security concerns as authorities feared Ukraine could attack Red Square with drones.
A last-minute ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv, brokered by US President Donald Trump, reduced the danger of any attack and the parade passed without incident.
Putin’s comments came just hours after he used his Victory Day speech to justify the war.
In that speech, the president maintained that Russia was fighting a “just” war and called Ukraine an “aggressive force” that was being “armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc.”
Later, when asked at a press conference about Western aid to Ukraine, Putin said: “They (the West) promised help and then began to stoke a confrontation with Russia that continues to this day. I think the issue is coming to an end, but it is a serious matter.”
Russian forces seized Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014, and then launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Putin assured that he would only meet with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, once a lasting peace treaty was agreed.
“A meeting in a third country is possible, although only once final agreements have been reached on a peace treaty with a long-term historical perspective, to participate in this event and sign (the agreement). But it must be a final step,” he continued.
The Russian president said he had heard that Zelensky was willing to hold an internal meeting, but qualified: “This is not the first time we have heard such statements.”
Putin stated that he would be willing to negotiate new security agreements for Europe, and that his preferred negotiating partner would be former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
The former foreign minister is a long-time friend of Putin, and is controversial for his work for Russian state energy companies.
As part of the US-led ceasefire over the weekend, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to an exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each country.
However, Putin noted that Russia had not yet heard from Ukraine about any exchange.
For the first time in almost two decades there was no military equipment at the Red Square parade, which the Kremlin often displays to project Russian military power on the international stage.
There were also far fewer journalists at the event, and many international media outlets were not allowed access.
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