Putin acknowledges war against Ukraine
Photo: Vladimir Putin, Russian president (Getty Images)
Vladimir Putin has acknowledged that he is waging a war against Ukraine, effectively calling his so-called "special military operation" a war, according to his press conference.
During his speech, the Kremlin leader proposed resuming direct negotiations with Ukraine. Commenting on the current situation, he referred to it as "war," a term he had avoided using before.
"I repeat, Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions. Right now, there are active hostilities, war, and we offer to resume the negotiations, which were not interrupted by us," Putin claimed.
Key points from Putin's statement
During his address, Putin avoided discussing the 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine, along with the US and the Coalition of the Willing, had put forward just the day before.
Instead, he proposed restarting direct dialogue between Moscow and Kyiv next Thursday, May 15, in Istanbul - the same talks that were interrupted in 2022.
He announced that he would have a conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan tomorrow. Putin also directly addressed the Turkish leader at the conference, asking him to provide a venue for negotiations with Ukraine.
