The talks with Ukraine should not be on a ceasefire for half an hour or six months so that Kiev can get more shells, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club on Thursday.
"We are ready for negotiations, but not on the basis of any wishes, but on the basis of the realities that are taking shape, the agreements that were reached in Istanbul. But we should not talk about a truce for half an hour or six months in order for the shells to be transferred to them, but in order to create favorable conditions for the restoration of relations and cooperation of the future in the interests of the two peoples, who are fraternal," Putin noted.
The president added that Russia is ready for peace talks on Ukraine on the basis of previously reached agreements in Istanbul, and taking into account current realities.
Speaking of the losses of the Ukrainian troops that entered the Kursk Region, Putin noted that the number amounted to over 30,000 servicepeople, which is more than the number of losses for 2023.
"They [the Ukrainian armed forces] entered the Kursk region; the losses are huge, in three months of military operations; there are more losses than the Kiev regime had in the whole of last year, over 30,000," Putin said.
Commenting on the actions of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region, Putin said that they were ordered from overseas to hold on at any cost, at least until the US elections, adding that decisions of Ukrainian troops in Kursk are dictated not by military considerations, but by political ones.
"In the direction in the area of responsibility of our 'Tsentr' group, there are already two or three hotbeds blocked—two for sure; a third will probably come soon," Putin said.
About 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers are blocked in one of the hotbeds in the Kupyansk area in Kharkov region, he said, adding that Russian troops also blocked two hotbeds in the Kupyansk combat zone.
In addition, the Russian president underscored that the country has not started any intervention or aggression in Ukraine, but is trying to stop it.
"We have not started any intervention or aggression [against Ukraine], but we are trying to stop it," Putin said.
Russia understands and supports those in Ukraine who did not agree with the coup, the Russian president added.