Image Credit: VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV / Contributor / Getty Images 
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he’s ready for peace.
Addressing the Russian nation during a marathon news conference, President Putin said he believes “President Trump is making serious efforts to bring this conflict to an end. As I’ve said many times, I believe he is doing this with complete sincerity.”
“Furthermore, at the meeting with President Trump in Anchorage, we coordinated and virtually agreed to President Trump’s proposals,” Putin added.
“Therefore, to say that we are rejecting something is absolutely incorrect and has no basis whatsoever.”
Putin went on to say that Russia had already been asked to make compromises and had agreed.
“When I arrived in Anchorage, I said that these would not be easy decisions for us, but we agreed to the compromises being proposed,” Putin said.
He said the “ball is entirely in the court of our Western opponents,” meaning specifically Ukraine and her European allies.
“We are ready for both negotiations and a peaceful resolution to the conflict.”
However, he also signaled a willingness to use military force to end the conflict.
“For our part, we refrained for a long time from recognizing the independence and sovereignty of the then-unrecognized republics, the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic,” Putin said.
“And after we were deceived and the Minsk agreements were not implemented, we were forced to use armed forces to put an end to the war that had been started by the Kyiv regime with the support of Western countries.”
Putin said Russia would be prepared to halt strikes against Ukraine if there is an election. Ukraine’s last presidential election was held in 2019.
He criticized NATO, saying that its expansion “raises, and has raised, and continues to raise, our legitimate concern,” and also said the proposal to use frozen Russian assets by the European Union was “robbery” that could damage the reputation of the bloc.
EU member states have given consent to the European Commission to use frozen Russian assets to provide funding loans to Ukraine.
Putin’s dove-like message is in sharp contrast to recent calls for Europe to prepare for war with Russia.
A little over a week ago, NATO chief Mark Rutte said Europe must prepare for war on a scale not seen since 1945.
“We are Russia’s next target. And we are already in harm’s way,” Rutte said during a speech in Berlin, Germany.
“Russia has brought war back to Europe, and we must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents and great grandparents endured.”
The NATO head also directed member states to get into a “wartime mindset.”
“This is not the time for self-congratulation,” he added.
“I fear that too many are quietly complacent. Too many don’t feel the urgency. And too many believe that time is on our side. It is not. The time for action is now.”
