American NBC television channel correspondent Kier Simmons asked him about relations with US President Donald Trump, and also why the Russian Federation does not accept the American peace plan, in which Kyiv makes compromises.
“But you continue to talk about war,” the journalist emphasized, asking whether Putin would feel responsible for deaths in the war on both sides in 2026.
“We do not consider ourselves responsible for the deaths of people, because we did not start the war,” said the head of the Kremlin.
He repeated the propaganda narrative that Moscow was “defending” the illegal “DPR” and “LDPR” from the “Kyiv regime” and “were forced to use armed forces to end the war.”
According to Putin, Trump is “making serious efforts” for peace.
“He is doing this, in my opinion, absolutely sincerely. Moreover, at a meeting with President Trump in Anchorage, we agreed and practically agreed with President Trump’s proposals. Therefore, to say that we are rejecting something is absolutely incorrect and has no basis. At preliminary meetings in Moscow, proposals were made to us and we were asked to make certain compromises. Arriving in Anchorage, I said that these would not be easy decisions for us, but we are with those proposed to us “We agree to compromise. Therefore, to say that we reject something is completely incorrect and has no basis,” he said.
The head of the Kremlin believes that “the ball is in the Ukrainian court,” and Moscow, in turn, is ready for negotiations and “ending the conflict by peaceful means.”
Context
The delegations of Ukraine and the USA have already held a series of rounds of negotiations on a “peace plan” for resolving the Russian-Ukrainian war. In parallel, the American side is discussing the same issue with the Russian Federation.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, in an interview with Bloomberg on December 8, said that elements of the US plan require further discussion regarding a number of “sensitive issues,” in particular regarding territorial issues and security guarantees for Ukraine.
December 10 Trump had a “tense” telephone conversation with the leaders of France, Germany and Great Britain, calling on them to put pressure on Zelensky to agree to the terms of the “peace plan,” WSJ reported. On the same day, Ukraine transferred to the American side a framework document of a “peace plan” of 20 main points, the president reported.
Europe will play an “important role” in providing security guarantees for Ukraine, and the United States is working on this together with it, Trump noted. He also said that personally discussed the peace plan for Ukraine with Putin.
