MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Moscow hoped for more peace talks with Ukraine but that the momentum of the war was in its favor, signalling no shift in his stance despite a looming sanctions deadline from Washington.
US President Donald Trump has said he will impose new sanctions on Moscow and countries that buy its energy exports — of which the biggest are China and India — unless Russia moves by August 8 to end the 3-1/2 year war.
He has expressed mounting frustration with Putin, accusing him of “bullshit” and describing Russia’s latest attacks on Ukraine as “disgusting.”
Putin, without referring to the Trump deadline, said three sessions of peace talks with Ukraine had yielded some positive results, and Russia was expecting negotiations to continue.
“As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations. This is a well-known general rule,” he said.
