Russian President Vladimir Putin leaves no room for doubts about the fate of the conflict in Ukraine: "In the end , an agreement will have to be reached ". To dampen the positive wave of these statements, the Kremlin leader adds a "but": «The problem , he says, is the lack of trust with Western counterparts , who have transformed Ukraine into "a colony" and exploit Ukrainians as "cannon fodder" against Russia".

In this regard, he also cites an alleged "betrayal" by former chancellor Angela Merkel who said a few days ago - in an interview with Die Zeit - that the 2014-2015 Minsk agreements were a way to "give time" in Kiev because at the time Moscow "could have easily crushed" Ukraine. "I had always assumed that the German leadership was sincere with us", remarked the tsar who also admitted the existence of "persistent logistical problems" in the military operation in Ukraine , starting with those of supplying the troops at the front . He also declared that Russia is ready to "wipe off the face of the earth" anyone who attacks the country with nuclear weapons , even though it does not intend to launch a preemptive atomic first strike.

The tsar took advantage of a press conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, at the end of a summit of the Eurasian Economic Union which brings together several former Soviet countries, to also take stock of Russia's response to the Western price cap on its oil exported by sea . The reaction will be made official in the coming days and could include, Putin said, a reduction in the production of crude oil , in addition to the already announced refusal to sell it to countries that apply the price limit. According to him, the decision will not have negative consequences on the economy of Moscow which already sells its Urals oil at around 60 dollars a barrel, a price imposed as a ceiling by Westerners.

Meanwhile , Russian and American diplomats met again in Istanbul. However, Moscow's leaders have downplayed the importance of this and the many other talks that have taken place in recent months between defense ministers, national security advisers and foreign intelligence chiefs of the two countries. " We haven't talked about Ukraine " are now the watchwords used after the news of each discussion. In the Turkish city, the American and Russian envoys would instead have "thorny" issues in bilateral relations, such as the granting of visas, diplomatic exchanges and the functioning of the respective diplomatic offices, a source told the Russian news agency Tass.

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(Unioneonline/vf)

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