MOSCOW. Feb 20 (Interfax) - Russia is ready for talks on settling the situation in Ukraine and for a dialogue with the United States on strategic stability, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
However, this is not possible amid statements about the intention to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, he said.
"As for talks, we have never been against them. We have always been in favor of talks. This also concerns Ukraine, the Ukraine issue. I have said one hundred times that we have not interrupted those talks, it was the Ukrainian side that interrupted the dialogue, following a direct command from London and Washington. And the Ukrainian side is now saying that directly on an official level. I don't know why they are doing it, but they are speaking publicly," Putin said at a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
"As for strategic stability, we have never refused a dialogue here, either," Putin said.
"But pretending that the U.S. and the West, on one hand, call for a strategic defeat of Russia, and on the other, allegedly intend and want to have a dialogue on strategic stability, believing that one thing is not connected to the other - they won't be able to do that," Putin said.
"If they are looking to inflict a strategic defeat on us, we should think about what strategic stability means to our country," Putin said.
"We are not refusing anything, we are not declining anything, but we need to understand what they want. As a rule, they seek unilateral advantages, [and] that's not going to happen," he said.
"Nevertheless, of course, contacts are possible through you and through the Foreign Ministry," Putin said.
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