Russian President Vladimir Putin has lost interest in a diplomatic settlement of the war with Ukraine and instead appears intent on seizing as much Ukrainian territory as possible.. This was stated by three people who are aware of the conversations with the Russian president, according to the Financial Times..

Putin, who was seriously considering a peace deal with Ukraine after Russia was defeated on the battlefield last month, told people involved in trying to end the conflict that he saw no prospects for a settlement..

“Putin truly believes in the crap he hears on [Russian] TV and wants to win big,” said a person with knowledge of the talks..

Although Moscow and Kyiv agreed on the first draft of a communique at a meeting in Istanbul in late March, negotiations stalled after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of committing war crimes against civilians in cities like Bucha and Mariupol..

Putin said peace efforts had reached a "

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" Putin went back and forth. He needs to find a way to get out of this situation as a winner, ”said one of the interlocutors..

After the Moskva sank, " ] After “Moscow”, he does not look like a winner, because it was humiliating, ”added the interlocutor.

Ukrainian and Western officials have always doubted his commitment to peace talks, suspecting that this is a way to buy time for a Russian offensive..

The Russian President appears to be holding the distorted view of the war as laid out by his generals and shown on Russian television, people with knowledge of conversations with him said.. They added that he stands his ground despite all the evidence to the contrary..

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Intermediaries such as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, European Council President Charles Michel and billionaire Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich have tried to convince Putin to meet with Zelensky in the hope they can break the deadlock..

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have put most other issues on the backburner as they try to work out an agreement on security guarantees for Kyiv if it declares neutrality and abandons its NATO aspirations..

But Putin told Michel in a phone call on Friday that the talks had run aground because Ukraine had "

The negotiators interpreted this as that Russia believes it can take more territory, rather than as an indication that the negotiations need more time to find areas of consensus..

Putin avoids meeting with Zelensky 'by all means', says person involved in peace talks. "

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Zelenskiy said on April 23 that he wanted negotiations to continue, but said Ukraine would not continue negotiations if people were killed in Mariupol or if Russian authorities in occupied southern Kherson held a separatist referendum..

Those involved in the negotiation process say officials in Kyiv are concerned that Putin could go beyond Russia's stated goal of capturing eastern Donbass and instead try to capture the entire southeast, cutting off Ukraine from the sea..

Ukraine confident it can push Russian forces further after Russia's defeat in Putin's original plan to take over the country quickly. But officials are increasingly worried that Moscow may resort to tactical nuclear weapons if it fails further, the two people said..

According to the FT source, at a meeting with Michel in Kyiv on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said that Ukrainian public opinion did not support continuing the peace talks, adding that he was aware that fighting Putin was more popular than concessions..

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Erdogan spoke with Zelensky on April 24 in an attempt to revive stalled talks. Turkish leader says Ankara is ready to help. On Friday, Erdogan said he also hoped to speak with Putin in the coming days..