"We have never refused": Putin wants Europeans to participate in Ukraine negotiations

Putin is reaching out to Europe. The Kremlin ruler says on television that he believes it is necessary for European states to participate in peace negotiations in the war in Ukraine. He had not previously been opposed to this.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has given European states a role in possible negotiations on a settlement of the Ukraine conflict. "The Europeans, but also other countries, have the right and the opportunity to participate - and we respect that," Putin said in a television interview.

Within the EU, fears have recently grown that they will be excluded from negotiations in light of the direct talks between the US and Russia. The Russian president said of the European states: "Their participation in the negotiation process is necessary. We have never refused."

The talks between Russian and US representatives, which took place last week in Saudi Arabia, were aimed at strengthening "trust" between Moscow and Washington. The first meeting was about "the problems associated with the Ukraine crisis, but not about the Ukraine crisis itself."

Putin: Europe has "rejected contact with us"

This format is to be repeated today in Riyadh. It is a "follow-up meeting" to last week's talks, diplomatic circles said. Diplomatic delegations from both countries will take part. It has not yet been announced whether Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will speak to each other again.

Putin stressed in the interview that it was the European states that broke off contact with Russia after the attack on Ukraine began. "They themselves refused any contact with us, with all sorts of crazy ideas to defeat Russia on the battlefield," he said.