Putin: Russia did not start the war. Russia is trying to end it

The world has not learned the lessons of the destructive confrontation of the 20th century, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his speech at the Valdai Forum.

The 20th annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club is taking place in Sochi on October 2-5.

"In the beginning of the 21st century, everyone hoped that states and peoples had learned the lessons from the costly, destructive military-ideological confrontation of the previous century,” Putin said.

According to him, everyone also hoped that mankind had come to realise the harmfulness of such confrontation, as well as the fragility and interconnectedness on our planet.

"Global problems of humanity require joint action and search for collective solutions, whereas selfishness, conceit, and disregard for real challenges will inevitably lead us to a dead end,” Putin continued.

This should have become obvious, but it turned out that this was not the case. No,” he said.

The armed confrontation in Ukraine did not start through Russia's fault. On the contrary, Russia is trying to end it, Putin said.

Russia did not start the so-called war in Ukraine, but it is trying to end it, Putin noted.

"We did not start the so-called war in Ukraine. On the contrary, we are trying to finish it. <…> We have no interest in conquering any additional territories. We still have to explore and develop Siberia, Eastern Siberia and the Far East. This is not a territorial conflict," the Russian president said.

"It was not us who staged the coup in Kyiv,” the president also said.

Putin described the 2014 events in Ukraine as bloody and unconstitutional.

The goal of the special military operation is to end the war that Kyiv started, he added. The armed conflict in Ukraine has been going on for ten years, Putin noted.

"It was not us who intimidated residents of Crimea and Sevastopol with Nazi-style ethnic cleansing. It was not us who tried to force the Donbass into obedience through shelling and bombing. It was not us who tried to do away with those who wanted to speak their native language,” he explained.