Russia Does Not Want War – Vladimir Putin Says As He Withdraw Troops From Ukraine’s Border

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia does not want a war in Europe, but described the situation in east Ukraine’s breakaway regions as “genocide” and called for the conflict there to be resolved through the Minsk peace progress.

At a joint news conference after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin said Russia had decided to partially withdraw troops from near Ukraine and saw some room for further discussion with the West on Moscow’s security demands.

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He said, however, that there had not been a constructive response to Russia’s demands.

Putin also insisted that the fate of two breakaway Ukrainian regions – where Moscow-backed rebels are fighting the government – should form part of talks because ‘genocide’ is underway there. And he again accused the West of ignoring his demand that Ukraine is banned from NATO, underlining how far apart the two sides still are.

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He said: ‘Of course we don’t want it [war],’

‘This is exactly why we put forward the proposal to start the negotiation process where the result should be an agreement of ensuring equal security of everyone, including our country.

‘Unfortunately there was no constructive response to this proposal.

‘Nevertheless we come from a position that even in the documents that were forwarded to us from NATO and Washington there are elements that can be discussed.’

Hours before he spoke, Moscow announced that some troops and tanks stationed near Ukraine are being returned to their home bases – a move that was welcomed with cautious optimism by Western leaders who said it sends the right signal, but doesn’t change the fact that Russia could still invade at short notice.

Photo Credit: Getty