Russian President Vladimir Putin would not seek to change the Ukrainian government with his offensive in that country, the Finnish president said in an interview with CNN on Monday.
Sauli Niinistö, Putin's frequent interlocutor in recent years, spoke again with the Russian president on Friday, as part of European efforts to keep the diplomatic channel open.
“Putin has his list, we all know that,” said the head of state of the Nordic country, according to an excerpt from the interview released by CNN International. “But it seems that changing the government of Ukraine is no longer in,” she added.
Ukraine said on Friday that it fears that Kiev will be besieged and promised a “fierce defense” of its capital against Russian forces.
Asked whether Vladimir Putin would like to install a government in Ukraine that is akin to his Executive, the Finnish president alluded to the conversation he had with the Russian president on Friday.
“He [Vladimir Putin] was very clear when I asked him: 'Have you given up this demand? And he said, 'I've never demanded that, '” said Niinistö.
Putin's real objectives in this war remain one of the great unknowns of diplomatic discussions.
In recent days, US officials have said publicly that they are concerned that the Russian president will escalate the conflict to try to break Ukraine's resistance. Russia still has overwhelming military advantages and can bomb the country for weeks longer. And while the rest of the world reacts to the horrific images of the war that began, Putin remains isolated from internal pressure for what CIA director William Burns called a “propaganda bubble.”
Intelligence officials during two days of testimony before Congress last week expressed openly their concern about what Putin could do. And those concerns are increasingly shaping discussions about what US politicians are willing to do for Ukraine.
A fourth round of talks took place on Monday, but ended without progress after several hours, according to Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak. Podolyak said the negotiators took “a technical break” and planned to meet again on Tuesday.
Over the weekend, he said that Russia had been “listening carefully to our proposals.” Monday's talks were supposed to discuss “peace, ceasefire, immediate withdrawal of troops and security guarantees.”
Zelensky has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet with him directly, a request that has not been met by the Kremlin.
Also on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied media reports alleging that Russia requested military assistance from China to help advance its offensive in Ukraine.
“No, Russia has its own potential to continue the operation which, as we have said, is being developed according to plan and will be completed on time and in full,” Peskov said in his daily conference call with journalists.
(With information from AFP and AP)
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