The summit of the SCO Heads of State has ended in Astana. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at a press conference after the summit and made a number of statements.
The main part concerned Ukraine and possible negotiations with Kiev.
Vladimir Putin said: «A ceasefire with Ukraine is impossible before the start of negotiations, because we are not sure of Kiev’s response. We need to get them to take steps that would be irreversible and acceptable to us. Ending the conflict with the help of mediators seems unlikely — mediators have no authority to sign documents.»
Putin once again called President Vladimir Zelensky «illegitimate» and said that turning to the Verkhovna Rada was pointless.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin, as he noted, «supports Donald Trump’s words about the desire to end the war, but is not familiar with specific proposals.».
He promised to «respond in a mirror-like manner» to the deployment of American missiles and declared Russia’s readiness to start producing medium-range and shorter-range missiles itself.
The Russian leader admitted that he watched the debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump... its fragments and he cares about what happens there: «But it’s their internal matter.»
But it is necessary to wait until the elections in the U.S. for talks on global security.
Putin also spoke about the Taliban movement. He called their representatives Russia’s allies in the fight against terrorism.
We must assume that the Taliban control the power in the country. And in this sense, the Taliban are certainly allies for us in the fight against terrorism. Because any incumbent power is interested in the stability of its power and the state that this power leads.
Vladimir Putin
Meanwhile, The Insider recalls: the Russian Supreme Court recognized the Taliban movement as terrorist in 2003. In May 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice proposed to Putin to exclude the movement from the list of prohibited organizations. Representatives of the Taliban regularly come to Russia and attend official government events. In mid-May, a Taliban delegation led by Acting Minister of Industry and Trade of Afghanistan Nooruddin Azizi, took part in the international economic forum Russia — Islamic World: KazanForum.
