The head of state said this in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin.
Putin recalled that the current Kiev regime, as well as the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, stated that they do not intend to implement the Minsk agreements.
After this, it became obvious that all Russia’s efforts to resolve the conflict in Donbass peacefully were useless, he added.
“And we moved from peaceful instruments to instruments of a military nature. But even then we sought to end this conflict peacefully, and in Istanbul we agreed on the parameters of this possible peace agreement,” Putin emphasized.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that now the ball is not in Russia’s court regarding negotiations with Ukraine, Zelensky only needs to lift the ban on dialogue with Moscow.