By Vladimir Soldatkin
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday there was a chance of reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while Kyiv said it expected a “new dynamic” in peace efforts.
Putin, speaking at an economic forum in Russia’s far east, said a number of countries including the U.S. and China were ready to support a peace settlement.
“Ultimately, however, the problem must be resolved by the countries involved in the conflict — Russia and Ukraine,” he said.
“We are grateful to everyone attempting to contribute to a settlement. Is there a chance? In my view, yes, there is.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told reporters in Kyiv: “I believe that we will now have a new dynamic in the peace efforts, with the return of this active phase of political and diplomatic engagement in many capitals around the world.”
He did not elaborate further, telling reporters to “follow the news”.
After four and a half years of Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two, it is rare for either side to offer an upbeat assessment of peace prospects. They last met for U.S.-mediated talks in February.
Since then, with the U.S. distracted by the Iran war, both Russia and Ukraine have ramped up long-range air attacks deep inside the other’s territory. Hostilities at sea have escalated sharply with attacks by both sides on ports and commercial shipping, pushing up global grain prices.
Chicago wheat futures dropped by more than 2% on Putin’s comments.
However, neither Putin nor Sybiha cited specific reasons to expect progress; on the contrary, the Kremlin leader said Ukraine’s latest actions presented an obstacle.
In response to a question, Putin said Ukrainian attacks on civilian merchant ships and “reported threats of attacks on civilian aircraft” were “acts of state terrorism”, which he said “complicates the prospects for bilateral peace talks”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned airlines and insurance companies this week that the presence of Ukrainian drones had made Russian skies dangerous, although he said Ukraine would target only Russian military facilities and not threaten civilian aircraft.
On Wednesday, Ukraine urged the U.N.’s aviation agency to ask members to ban operations in Russian airspace. Ukraine has been cut off from international civil aviation because its own airspace is considered unsafe since Russia invaded in 2022.
PUTIN: CONTACTS MOSTLY TAKE PLACE VIA INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES
Putin said contacts with Ukraine were still taking place.
“It is difficult for me to say right now to what extent these contacts are leading to a peace agreement, given the statements we have heard recently from Ukraine’s top leadership,” he said.
“However, contacts do exist and are continuing on an ongoing basis – again, primarily through intelligence channels.”
Speaking alongside Sybiha in Kyiv, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said: “If India can be of any help, in any manner, we are there.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Putin on Monday that the war in Ukraine needed to end for humanity’s sake and that New Delhi would support every effort to stop the fighting.
(Additional reporting by Reuters in Moscow, Max Hunder in Kyiv and Anna Pruchnicka in Gdansk; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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