Putin says 'of course' Russia does not want war

Russian President Vladimir Putin

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia does not want a war in Europe, but described the situation in east Ukraine's breakaway regions as "genocide" and called for the conflict there to be resolved through the Minsk peace progress.

At a joint news conference after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin said Russia had decided to partially withdraw troops from near Ukraine and saw some room for further discussion with the West on Moscow's security demands.

He said, however, that there had not been a constructive response to Russia's demands.

Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin, Darya Korsunskaya, Mark Trevelyan; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Andrew Cawthorne

REUTERS