Trump has said a peace deal is closer than ever and, despite Putin’s apparent refusal to compromise, the US president has said he hopes “Ukraine moves quickly because Russia is there”.
A Ukrainian delegation is holding talks in Miami on Friday with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. German, French and British officials are also there, days after they met the US officials in Berlin.
Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev is also expected in Miami over the weekend, according to reports.
Putin told the BBC’s Russia Editor: “We are ready to work with you – with the UK and with Europe in general and with the United States, but as equals, with mutual respect to each other.
“We are ready to cease these hostilities immediately, provided that Russia’s medium- and long-term security is ensured, and we are ready to cooperate with you.”
He accused the West of creating an enemy out of Russia. Skating over his decision to mount a full-scale invasion in February 2022, he said: “You are waging a war against us with the hands of Ukrainian neo-Nazis,” before repeating his regular diatribe against Ukraine’s democratically elected leaders.
European intelligence agencies have warned that Russia is only a few years away from attacking Nato. The Western defensive alliance’s chief Mark Rutte said this month that Russia was already escalating a covert campaign and the West had to be prepared for war.
While many of the questions were benign, including several from children, from a one reporter from Yakutia in north-eastern Siberia highlighted a tenfold increase in energy prices in the past four years. Putin told her that his team would look into alternative sources of energy and “keep Yakutia in mind”.
Towards the end of the TV marathon, Putin was asked a series of quickfire questions, touching on his views on friendship, religion, the motherland and love at first sight. He said he believed in love at first sight – then added that he himself was in love, without divulging any more details.