Putin says all Ukraine peace proposals on table, but Russia must weigh its interests


Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the 12th St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, September 25, 2026. REUTERS/Anastasia Barashkova

MOSCOW, Sept 25 (Reuters) - ⁠Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that ⁠all proposals for a settlement in the 4-1/2-year-old ‌war with Ukraine remained on the table, but Moscow still needed to assess what was in its best interest, Russian news agencies ​reported.

Putin, addressing Russian journalists, also said ⁠that Moscow had been ⁠ready to resume negotiations with Kyiv after last week's Russian ⁠parliamentary ‌elections, but Ukraine had launched attacks on Moscow and hit polling stations.

The Russian president ⁠said it was Ukraine that had launched provocative ​attacks and ‌would now have to pay the price of a ⁠sustained response.

"They ​are the ones who started it. Everywhere, on every front. Are these playthings, child's play?" Putin told reporters.

"They should ⁠therefore be made to feel Russia's ​retaliatory strikes and understand that no provocative actions, no stirring up the situation to secure a result will work. ⁠They're only making things worse for themselves."

He said these actions stood behind Ukraine's calls for a ceasefire and a resumption of talks.

"They are all on the ​table. It's all possible," he said. "But ⁠after everything they have done, we will still have to ​think carefully about what we ‌need to do in response."

(Reporting ​by Maxim Rodionov. Writing by Marina Bobrova. Editing by Toby Chopra, Ron Popeski and Mark Potter)

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