Putin to visit Donbas in eastern Ukraine ‘in due course’: Kremlin
Russia says President Vladimir Putin will visit the breakaway Donbas region in eastern Ukraine “in due course,” as tensions grow over the conflict in the former Soviet state.
“It will certainly happen in due course because it is part of the Russian Federation,” the Kremlin's Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies on Saturday, without indicating an exact date.
According to Press TV, the Kremlin has already rejected US President Joe Biden’s conditions for talks with Putin over the war in Ukraine.
Speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, Biden said the only path to ending the war in Ukraine was the withdrawal of Russian troops. Biden said if Putin seeks to end the war, he is ready to talk with him.
In response, Peskov said Putin was ready for any negotiations, but Russia will not withdraw from Ukraine. Peskov told reporters the Russian president is always ready to negotiate to ensure the interests of his country.
The Kremlin’s spokesman said Washington’s refusal to recognize the "new territories" as part of the Russian territory prevented any potential compromise. “This significantly complicates the search for mutual ground for discussions.”
In late September, Putin signed a decree for the formal accession of four regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to the Russian Federation. That was after people in the four regions voted in favor of joining Russia in a referendum.
ME
