“I think this matter is coming to an end,” Putin told reporters about the war in Ukraine. Putin spoke in the Kremlin after Russia held celebrations to mark the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. In accordance with Russian traditions, the Russian president said that the Great Patriotic War, as the conflict is called in Russia, began in July 1941, when the Germans “treacherously attacked the Soviet Union.”
He thus forgot that the Soviet Union started the Second World War together with Germany with a coordinated attack on Poland.
Putin went on to say that “confrontation with Russia began to be stirred up” by Western politicians. “The question arises why. They expected a crushing defeat of Russia,” answered the head of the Kremlin.
“Then they returned to their ruts and they can’t get out of them, that’s the problem. Nevertheless, there are smart people there who understand the essence of events. I hope that these political forces will gradually return to power, or that they will take this power with the support of the overwhelming majority of European countries,” added Putin.
“Eventually, we will restore relations with many countries that are now trying to demonize relations with us. The sooner this happens, the better – both for us and, in this case, for European countries,” he told reporters.
The Russian president also announced on Saturday that he is ready to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He did so in response to a message delivered to him by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico from Zelenský. However, Putin made the negotiations conditional on reaching a permanent peace agreement.
