INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Ukraine be placed under a form of temporary administration to allow for new elections and the
signature of key accords to reach a settlement in the war, Russian news agencies reported early on Friday.Putin&s comments, during a visit
to the northern port of Murmansk, come amid United States attempts to forge a settlement to the conflict by re-establishing links with
Russia and engaging with both Moscow and Kyiv, in separate talks
The Kremlin leader said he believed United States President Donald Trump truly wanted peace, Reuters reported.Russia&s invasion of Ukraine
in February 2022 has left hundreds of thousands of dead and injured, displaced millions of people, reduced towns to rubble and triggered the
sharpest confrontation for decades between Moscow and the West.Putin&s suggestion of a temporary administration appeared to address his
long-held complaint that Ukraine&s authorities are not a legitimate negotiating partner as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has stayed in power
beyond the May 2024 end of his mandate.In principle, of course, a temporary administration could be introduced in Ukraine under the auspices
of the U.N, the United States, European countries and our partners,& Putin was quoted as saying in talks with seamen at the port.This would
be in order to hold democratic elections and bring to power a capable government enjoying the trust of the people and then to start talks
with them about a peace treaty.He said Trump&s efforts to proceed with direct talks with Russia & in contrast with his predecessor Joe
Biden, who shunned contacts & showed the new president wanted peace.In my opinion, the newly elected president of the United States
sincerely wants an end to the conflict for a number of reasons,& the agencies quoted him as saying.A White House National Security Council
spokesperson, asked about Putin&s remarks on temporary administration, said governance in Ukraine was determined by its constitution and the
people of the country.There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.European leaders have pressed on with their own efforts, pledging after a
meeting in Paris on Thursday to strengthen Kyiv&s army to ensure it was the cornerstone of future security in Ukraine.France and Britain
tried to expand support for a foreign &reassurance force& in the event of a truce with Russia, although Moscow rejects any presence of
foreign troops in Ukraine.UKRAINE REJECTS NOTION OF ILLEGITIMACYZelenskiy has rejected any notion questioning his legitimacy, saying Ukraine
is barred by law from holding elections under martial law and holding a poll in wartime conditions would in any case prove
impossible.Zelenskiy has repeatedly accused Putin in recent days of wanting to press on with the conflict.The Trump administration has
proposed a new, more expansive minerals deal with Ukraine, according to three people familiar with the ongoing negotiations and a summary of
a draft proposal obtained by Reuters.Trump has said a minerals deal will help secure a peace agreement by giving the United States a
financial stake in Ukraine&s future.In his comments, Putin said Russia was steadily moving forward to achieving the goals it had set out in
its Ukraine operation.Russia, Putin said, was in favour of &peaceful solutions to any conflict, including this one, through peaceful means,
but not at our expense&.Throughout the entire line of military contact, our troops are holding the strategic initiative,& he said.We are
gradually & perhaps not as quickly as some might like & but still persistently and with confidence moving towards achieving the goals set
out at the beginning of this operation,& the agencies quoted him as saying.More than three years after launching their full-scale invasion
of Ukraine, Russian forces now hold about 20% of the country, with Moscow declaring four regions annexed
Its forces have also recovered much of the territory it initially lost in a Ukrainian incursion last August into its western Kursk
region.Putin praised the efforts in seeking a solution from the BRICS grouping it promotes as an alternative to traditional alliances &
singling out China and India for praise.He said Russia was ready to cooperate with many countries, including North Korea, to help end the
war.Western and Ukrainian sources say more than 11,000 North Korean troops have been sent to bolster Russian forces in the Kursk region,
although Moscow has not confirmed this.Putin said Russia was also ready to work with Europe, but adding that Europe &conducts itself in
inconsistent fashion&.European countries, he said, were trying &lead us around by the nose, but it&s okay, we&ve become used to it
I hope that we won''t make any mistakes based on excessive trust in our so-called partners.The post Putin suggests temporary administration
for Ukraine to end war first appeared on Ariana News.
