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Russian leader says European demands for Ukraine peace deal are ‘absolutely unacceptable’
Maira ButtTuesday 02 December 2025 15:27 GMTComments
ClosePutin: Russia will achieve its goals in Ukraine by force unless Kyiv withdraws
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President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is ready to fight a war with Europe if it is provoked in his latest threat against the West.
“We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now,” he said on Tuesday. “They are on the side of war.”
He accused Europe of making demands on a possible peace settlement for Ukraine, which he said Russia finds “absolutely unacceptable”.
The comments come at the plenary session of the VTB Russia Calling Investment forum in Moscow on Tuesday ahead of talks with President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
open image in gallery(AP)Witkoff landed in Moscow earlier in the day to negotiate the terms of a possible peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
The visit follows a flurry of diplomatic activity in the past fortnight involving US, Ukrainian, European and Russian officials.
Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky revealed on Tuesday that the US and Ukraine have agreed on a new 20-point peace deal, as talks between Witkoff and Putin began in the Kremlin.
open image in gallery(AP)The Ukrainian president said that the original 28-point roadmap proposed by the US last month had been reworked into a new agreement following discussions between officials.
"Some things still need to be worked out," he told reporters on a visit to Dublin, adding that this marked "one of the most challenging and yet optimistic moments at the same time" for peace in Ukraine.
Fighting has intensified around the key strategic city of Pokrovsk, with Russia declaring it had been captured. Ukraine has denied the claims.
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