MOSCOW. June 18 (Interfax) - The United States has always rejected Russia's proposals aimed at resolving the situation in Ukraine peacefully, but Moscow remains open to an equal dialogue on the most difficult issues, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"The United States and its satellites openly declare that their objective is to inflict a 'strategic defeat' on Russia. They are doing everything they can to protract and further exacerbate the conflict in Ukraine, which they have themselves provoked by supporting and organizing the 2014 armed coup in Kiev and the subsequent war in Donbass," Putin said in his article for the Rodong Sinmun newspaper ahead of his visit to North Korea. The article has also been published on the Kremlin website.
"What is more, over the years they have repeatedly rejected all our attempts to resolve the situation peacefully. Russia has always been and will remain open to equal dialogue on all issues, including the most difficult ones. I reiterated this at my recent meeting with Russian diplomats in Moscow," Putin said.