MOSCOW (AP) 鈥 Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Thursday mocked a scheduled round of Ukraine peace talks in Switzerland, warning that Moscow will not accept any enforced plans that ignore its interests.
Switzerland鈥檚 government said Wednesday it will host a high-level international conference in June to help chart a path toward peace in Ukraine after more than two years of fighting, and expressed hope that Russia might join in the peace process someday.
Putin charged that Russia hadn't been invited to join June's talks, while pointing at Swiss recognition that a peace process can't happen without Russia.
鈥淭hey aren't inviting us there,鈥 Putin said. 鈥淢oreover, they think there is nothing for us to do there, but at the same time they say that's it's impossible to decide anything without us. It would have been funny if it weren't so sad."
Russia has dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's requiring Moscow to pull back its troops, pay compensation to Ukraine and face an international tribunal for its action.
Speaking during Thursday's meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow, Putin said that Russia is open for negotiations, but will never accept 鈥渁ny schemes that have nothing to do with reality.鈥
Putin has repeatedly said that he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to protect Russian interests and prevent Ukraine from posing a major security threat to Russia by joining NATO. Kyiv and its allies have denounced Russia鈥檚 military campaign as an unprovoked act of aggression.
Putin has claimed that Russian forces have the upper hand after the last year, arguing that Ukraine and the West will 鈥渟ooner or later鈥 have to accept a settlement on Moscow鈥檚 terms.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to end the could be successful only if they take Moscow鈥檚 interests into account, dismissing a planned round of peace talks as a Western ruse to rally broader international support for Kyiv.
