MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed on Thursday that a meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials took place last week in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), at the initiative of Kyiv.

Speaking at a news conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan's capital, Putin said the meeting was attended by "a US administration representative" and that the event took place at Kyiv's initiative.

"The presence of US representatives at the Abu Dhabi talks came as a surprise," he said.

Putin said the US has informed Moscow it would send a delegation in the first half of the coming week, adding that its composition is "solely Washington's decision."

Regarding the current proposal for peace in Ukraine, Putin said Moscow sees that the US is incorporating some Russian positions, but other points require serious discussion.

He said that following negotiations between the American and Ukrainian delegations in Geneva, the parties decided to divide the proposal into four distinct parts.

"As I have already announced publicly, the peace plan has been transmitted to us through certain channels. We got acquainted with it. After that, negotiations took place in Geneva between the American delegation and the Ukrainian delegation. And, as I understand it, they decided among themselves that all these 28 points should be divided into four separate components," he said.

The Russian president said he did not anticipate pressure from Washington, expressing surprise when the US imposed sanctions on Russian oil companies.

He claimed he "did not even understand what was happening," as there were no conflict situations between the two countries at that time.

Confirming Russia's readiness to conclude a peace agreement with Ukraine, Putin once again questioned the legitimacy of the current Ukrainian authorities, pointing out that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's term expired in 2024.

According to him, only the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, holds the right to extend its powers under martial law.

Putin said the conflict would end upon the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the soil they currently stand on.

“If they don't leave, we will achieve this by armed means,” he said.

He claimed that Russian forces have already seized the town of Hulyaipole in the Zaporizhzhia region and warned that their advance in this direction could lead to the collapse of the Ukrainian front.

Putin asserted that "those who understand what is happening in the battle zone" are demanding Ukraine sign a peace deal because it is losing.

Dismissing European security concerns, he stressed that “Moscow does not intend to attack Europe.”

On the subject of international diplomacy, Putin said Russia did not ask to resume its participation in the G7, adding that he had stopped attending its summits even before the 2014 Ukrainian crisis.

Commenting on European efforts aimed at seizing Russian assets, Putin said the Russian government is developing a package of response measures for such an event.