MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Thursday mocked a scheduled spherical of Ukraine peace talks in Switzerland, caution that Moscow is not going to settle for any enforced plans that forget about its pursuits.Switzerland’s govt mentioned Wednesday it is going to host a high-level world convention in June to lend a hand chart a trail towards peace in Ukraine after greater than two years of preventing, and expressed hope that Russia would possibly sign up for within the peace procedure in the future.Putin charged that Russia hadn’t been invited to sign up for June’s talks, whilst pointing at Swiss reputation {that a} peace procedure cannot occur with out Russia.“They are not inviting us there,” Putin mentioned. “Additionally, they suspect there’s not anything for us to do there, however on the similar time they are saying that is it is unattainable to come to a decision the rest with out us. It could were humorous if it were not so unhappy.”Russia has brushed aside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace system requiring Moscow to drag again its troops, pay repayment to Ukraine and face a global tribunal for its motion.Talking all the way through Thursday’s assembly with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow, Putin mentioned that Russia is open for negotiations, however won’t ever settle for “any schemes that experience not anything to do with fact.”Putin has many times mentioned that he despatched troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to offer protection to Russian pursuits and save you Ukraine from posing a significant safety danger to Russia by way of becoming a member of NATO. Kyiv and its allies have denounced Russia’s army marketing campaign as an unprovoked act of aggression.Putin has claimed that Russian forces have the higher hand after the failure of Ukraine’s counteroffensive ultimate yr, arguing that Ukraine and the West will “someday” have to just accept a agreement on Moscow’s phrases.Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov warned ultimate week that potential negotiations to finish the preventing in Ukraine may well be a hit provided that they take Moscow’s pursuits under consideration, disregarding a deliberate spherical of peace talks as a Western ruse to rally broader world improve for Kyiv.
