Vladimir Putin has been speaking today in Russia at a board meeting of the country’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
He says Russia does not reject a peaceful solution to its war with Ukraine.
The Russian president also said that Moscow and the US were ready to establish cooperation, but that some Western elites would seek to undermine the dialogue between them.
He said that initial contacts with the Donald Trump administration gave grounds for hope.
For context: Putin has been claiming since June that Russia is ready for peace, but says this is conditional on all their demands being met.
Last year, he set out Russia’s terms for a ceasefire. He said Russia must be handed all the Ukrainian provinces it claims but does not fully control, and that Kyiv must officially end its plans to join NATO. (Skynews)