"Negotiations actually began for us right after the onset of the special military operation. Initially, we told the then Ukrainian leadership: the people in the 'DPR' and 'LPR' do not wish to be part of Ukraine, leave that territory, and that would be the end of it," said the illegitimate president.
He added that there would have been "no combat actions, no war" if Kyiv had made a different choice.
Putin reiterated that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, is currently a "illegitimate leader" (Moscow claims that Zelensky lost legitimacy when his five-year term expired, but that is not the case), and lamented that he "cannot lift his own ban on negotiations with the Russian Federation." This refers to Zelensky's decree affirming the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, which states the impossibility of negotiations with Putin.
At the same time, the Kremlin leader stated that if Zelensky wishes to engage in negotiations, he would "appoint people to conduct them with him."
Putin also reiterated the propagandistic assertion that "Ukraine's sovereignty is almost zero." "Speaking about the Ukrainian issue, it will all end in a month and a half to two months if Ukraine runs out of sponsor money and ammunition," he declared.