Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is Putin’s preferred negotiating partner.
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that he believes the war in Ukraine is nearing its end.
The remarks, quoted by Reuters on Sunday (10/5/26), came just hours after he pledged victory in Ukraine during Moscow’s most modest Victory Day parade in recent years.
“I think this issue is moving towards a conclusion,” Putin told reporters regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.
He also said he was willing to negotiate a new security arrangement for Europe and named former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as his preferred negotiating partner.
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine triggered the most serious crisis in relations between Russia and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, when many feared the world was on the brink of nuclear war.
The Kremlin said peace talks mediated by the administration of US President Donald Trump are currently paused. Putin has repeatedly vowed to continue the war until all Russian objectives in what Moscow calls a “special military operation” are achieved.
Putin spoke at the Kremlin after outlining his view of the causes of the war.
He blamed “globalist” Western leaders, saying they had once promised that NATO would not expand eastwards after the fall of the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, but later sought to draw Ukraine into the orbit of the European Union.
The statement came only hours after the national 9 May parade commemorating the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The annual event honours the 27 million Soviet citizens who died during the war.
Rather than displaying intercontinental ballistic missiles, tanks, and missile systems usually seen crossing Red Square, Russia instead screened footage of its military equipment in action on giant displays in front of the Kremlin walls.
Russian forces have been fighting in Ukraine for more than four years, longer than the Soviet Union’s involvement in World War II, which is known in Russia as the “Great Patriotic War” of 1941–1945.
Putin, who has led Russia as either President or Prime Minister since the final day of 1999, is facing growing anxiety in Moscow over the war in Ukraine, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, devastated parts of Ukraine, and strained Russia’s IDR 3 trillion economy.
Russia’s relations with Europe are now at their lowest point since the height of the Cold War.
Russian forces have so far failed to capture the entirety of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv’s troops have withdrawn to fortified urban defensive lines. Russian advances have slowed this year, although Moscow now controls nearly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.
After Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating unilateral ceasefires announced in recent days, President Trump announced a three-day ceasefire from Saturday to Monday, backed by both the Kremlin and Kyiv. Both sides also agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners.
“I want to see this stop. Russia-Ukraine, this is the worst thing since World War Two in terms of casualties. Twenty-five thousand young soldiers every month. Crazy,” Trump told reporters in Washington.
He added that he wanted to see a “major extension” of the ceasefire. There were no reports of ceasefire violations from either Moscow or Kyiv.
Schroeder’s role?
President of the European Council Antonio Costa said last week that he believed there was “potential” for the European Union to negotiate with Russia, including discussions on the future of Europe’s security architecture.
When asked whether he was willing to engage in dialogue with European leaders, Putin said his preferred figure was Schroeder.
“For me personally, former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Schroeder, would be a better option,” Putin said.
European leaders have said Russia must be defeated in Ukraine and have described Putin as a war criminal and autocrat who could one day attack NATO members if allowed to win the war. Russia has dismissed such claims as nonsense.
Putin, who ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022, portrayed European countries as warmongers for supporting Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in aid, weapons, and intelligence.
When asked about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Putin said a meeting would only be possible once a permanent peace agreement had been reached. (YS/LM)
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