"Russia will take Donbas, militarily or otherwise," Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with India Today ahead of his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India.
"Everything depends on this. Either we liberate these territories by force of arms. Or Ukrainian troops withdraw from these territories and stop fighting there," Putin said.
He stressed that Russia tried to build relations between the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics and Ukraine, but Kiev did not recognize them.
"We tried to build relations between the rest of Ukraine and these republics. Then, when we realized that it was impossible, that they were simply being destroyed, we were forced to recognize them," Putin said, adding that Kiev refused to withdraw its troops from Donetsk and Luhansk after the referendum, preferring to fight.
The Russian leader stressed that the talks took so long because it was necessary to consider every point of the peace proposals. Putin said that the US plan, initially presented with 28 points, now reduced to 19, is based on agreements reached with his American counterpart in the summer at the Alaska summit.
"Finding a solution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is a difficult task. In the context of discussions on Ukraine, it is a difficult task to ensure that the parties reach a consensus," he added.
Asked about the G8, Putin said: "I don't want to return to the G8."
Meanwhile, today, after canceling yesterday's meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, US special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet today in Miami with the head of Ukraine's National Security Council, Rustem Umerov. On Tuesday, the US official spoke for 5 hours with Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, negotiations that the Kremlin said produced no compromise on ending the war in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump said the talks, which included his son-in-law Jared Kushner, were going well, but added that it was too early to say what would happen because "it takes two to tango." When a reporter asked whether Witkoff and Kushner believed Putin really wanted to end the war, Trump said:
US President Donald Trump said the talks, which included his son-in-law Jared Kushner, were going well, but added that it was too early to say what would happen because "it takes two to tango." When a reporter asked whether Witkoff and Kushner believed Putin really wanted to end the war, Trump said:
"Putin would like to end the war. That was their impression."
The US-Russia talks in the Kremlin followed several days of US meetings with Ukrainian and European leaders, after concerns were expressed that the draft of a peace agreement was heavily biased towards Russian demands.
Kiev and its European partners believe that, even in the event of a peace agreement, the most effective way to deter Russia from attacking again in the future would be to grant Ukraine NATO membership. Russia is categorically against such a proposal, and Trump has also repeatedly signaled that he has no intention of allowing Kiev to join the alliance.