Ready to work together with the West, says Putin

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday (February 15), in yet another hint of de-escalation in the Ukraine conflict, that he was "ready to work further together" with the West on security concerns. 

He was addressing a joint press conference in Moscow on Tuesday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Putin stated again that Russia does not want to go to war over the Ukraine issue. After amassing more than 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, Russia has been accused by the West of attempting to ignite a war.

Is this something we want or not? Obviously not. That is explicitly why we have put out ideas for a negotiation process," Putin stated.

Putin, on the other hand, insisted that Russia's requests had received no positive answer. He also called the situation in the breakaway regions of east Ukraine "genocide." He advocated for resolving the war through the Minsk peace process.

For a long time, frantic diplomacy has been on throughout Europe to avoid a war. On Monday (February 14), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told President Vladimir Putin that there was a 'chance' of engaging with Western countries to de-escalate tensions.

The Russian defence ministry announced on Tuesday that some Russian troops stationed near the border had begun to return to their bases.

On Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed Russia's announcement that some troops stationed near Ukraine will be withdrawn as a "positive gesture" toward de-escalating tensions.

"It is clearer to Europeans that sustainable security can only be achieved with Russia, not against Russia," he told reporters.