Lagatar24 Desk
Moscow, Feb 23: In the midst of escalating tensions with the West over Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow was ready to seek “diplomatic solutions,” but reiterated that the country’s interests were non-negotiable.
“Our country is always open for direct and honest dialogue, for the search for diplomatic solutions to the most complex problems,” said Putin in a video address to mark the Defender of the Fatherland Day in Russia.
He also said that the interests of Russia, the security of our citizens, are non-negotiable for us.
Putin remarked after the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, unanimously approved his deployment of “peacekeepers” to two breakaway Ukrainian regions now recognised as autonomous by Moscow, as well as perhaps other parts of Ukraine, on Tuesday.
Putin congratulated the country’s men in a video address, saying he was confident in the Russian military’s “professionalism” and that they would defend the country’s national interests.
He lauded the Russian army’s war readiness and stated that the country would continue to produce state-of-the-art weapons.
