Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking to Russian journalists during his visit to China, stated that Moscow has never shied away from negotiations with Ukraine.
He accused Ukrainian politicians of abandoning the negotiation process once Russian troops retreated from the outskirts of Kyiv.
"We were deceived once again," Putin remarked, pointing to Kyiv's sudden withdrawal from talks as a breach of trust.
"Now we have to understand who we should do business with and how. Who and to what extent we can trust. And, of course, we are now analyzing everything that is happening on this track."
This scrutiny, according to Putin, is important for future negotiations to avoid a repeat of past deceptions.
According to the journalists, Putin recalled that when Russian troops were near Kyiv, Western partners insisted on their pullback: "No documents can be signed if the opposite side puts a gun to your temple," they argued.
"The next day they threw our agreements into the dustbin and said, 'Well, now we will fight to the end,'" Putin recalled.
"And their Western handlers took the position now known to the whole world: Russia is to be defeated on the battlefield, to be made to suffer a strategic defeat. We are not the ones who behaved this way."
