The Russian president made the remarks as Moscow and Kyiv observe a three-day ceasefire in their four-year conflict.
Speaking to reporters after marking Russia's Victory Day parade , Putin said: "I think that the matter is coming to an end." The comment was made in response to a question about whether Western help to Ukraine went too far.
The Russian leader said: "They started ratcheting up the confrontation with Russia, which continues to this day. I think it is heading to an end, but it's still a serious matter." Russia marks Victory Day as the Ukraine war drags on To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Ceasefire is another hopeful sign Putin's remarks come as Kyiv and Moscow observe a three-day ceasefire in Russia's war in Ukraine this weekend.
The truce was announced on Friday by US President Donald Trump after negotiations brokered by Washington.
European Council President Antonio Costa on Thursday said the European Union was prepared to hold separate talks with Russia and Ukraine “when the right moment comes." During his news conference, Putin was asked to name his preferred EU negotiator for those talks. He named former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder .
Schröder is one of Putin’s closest Western allies and a longtime personal friend. But he has faced heavy criticism at home for those ties, which included lucrative board positions at Russian state-linked energy firms.
On Sunday, news agencies cited anonymous German government officials as saying Putin's suggestion was "not credible" as Moscow had not altered its conditions for ending the war.
The sources added that a first test of credibility would be for Russia to extend this weekend's 3-day ceasefire.
Investigating claims Putin's grip on power is slipping To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What else did Putin say?
As part of this weekend's US-led peace deal, both sides agreed to a large prisoner swap, but Putin said Moscow had not heard from Ukraine on the matter.
"We are counting on the Ukrainian side to respond to the proposal made by the President of the United States. Unfortunately, we still have not received any proposals so far," he told reporters.
Putin said he was ready for direct peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , but only after a lasting peace deal was agreed.
The Russian president went on to discuss the Iran war, saying he hoped it would end as soon as possible, but if it did not then everyone would lose out.
Russia's Victory Day commemorates the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany at the end of World War II.
Saturday's parade was scaled down, with mostly leaders of Russia's close allies in attendance and no military hardware on display for the first time in nearly two decades.
Edited by: Karl Sexton, Roshni Majumdar Advertisement
