Putin: Willing to let Europe participate in peace talks with the United States to discuss military cuts

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia does not oppose European participation in Russia-U.S. peace talks aimed at resolving the war with Ukraine, but noted that Brussels has long rejected any dialogue with Moscow.

In an interview with Russian state television, Putin said U.S. President Donald Trump was dealing with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine rationally, not emotionally.

Russia and the United States held their first round of talks on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia last week. Ukraine and Europe were not invited, sparking objections from both sides.

Mr. Putin said it was logical for Europe to be involved in negotiations.

"Their participation in the negotiation process is necessary," he said. We've never said no, we've been in discussions with them.

"Sometimes they refuse to engage with us under the pretext of inflicting defeat on Russia on the battlefield. If they want to change their minds and participate, that's fine."

He said the negative reaction to the Riyadh talks was emotional and illogical.

"Why? Because in order to resolve complex and difficult issues, including Ukraine, Russia and the United States must take the first step. The first step must be to work on increasing the level of trust between our two countries. That's what we did in Riyadh."

The two sides discussed the conflict in Ukraine, he said, "but not its essence." "We just agree that we're going to fix this. We are not rejecting the participation of European countries here."

Putin also said he agreed that Russia and the United States could discuss deep cuts in military spending, up to 50 percent.

"We can make a deal with the United States. We have no objection.

"I think it's a good idea. America cut 50%, we cut 50%. China can join later if it wants to."

Putin denied that Trump's sharp change in Washington's Ukraine policy was motivated by emotion, including criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymiy Zelensky and suggesting Kiev may not be able to recover all lost ground.

He said Trump acted logically and was not bound by European leaders' commitments to Ukraine.

"Unlike them, the new president of the United States has his hands free from bondage and no shackles to move forward. He is straightforward and without any special restrictions. He was in a unique position: he didn't just say what he thought, he said what he wanted. That is the prerogative of leaders of great powers."