Vladimir Putin said Russia was ready to hold “dialogue” with the west on core security issues after its defence ministry announced it had begun drawing down a troop build-up near the border with Ukraine.
Russia’s president said he was prepared to hold negotiations on intermediate nuclear missile forces and confidence-building measures with the west if the US and Nato pledged to discuss Moscow’s grievances with the transatlantic alliance — including its chief demand that it pledge never to admit Ukraine.
The comments, made after three hours of negotiations with new German chancellor Olaf Scholz, were Putin’s strongest indication yet that Russia is ready to de-escalate despite western warnings of Moscow’s plans for a renewed invasion of Ukraine.
Putin said “a decision has been taken to partially withdraw forces” following what Russia claims were exercises involving more than 130,000 troops near the border with Ukraine and in neighbouring Belarus.
But he said future negotiations would hang on the “real situation on the ground”, which he said was unpredictable and “does not only depend on us”.
“They tell us that they won’t admit [Ukraine] tomorrow, only when they’ve got it ready,” Putin said. “But that might be too late for us. So we want to solve this issue right now, in the immediate future, as part of a peaceful negotiating process.”
The talks between Scholz and Putin were the latest in a series of last-ditch efforts by western leaders to talk the Russian president out of invading Ukraine.
Earlier Russia’s defence ministry had signalled hopes of easing tension on Ukraine’s border by saying some troops were returning to their bases after the end of exercises.
But Nato’s secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg warned that the security alliance had not seen signs of a reduced military presence and that Moscow still had the means to mount an attack.
Stoltenberg said he had not so far seen “any sign of de-escalation” by Russian troops near Ukraine but said there was reason for “cautious optimism” given signs from Moscow that Russia wished to continue with diplomacy.
“Russia still has time to step back from the brink,” he told a press conference in Brussels. “What we need to see is a significant and enduring withdrawal of forces, troops and not least the heavy equipment.”
Earlier Russia’s defence ministry said units from the country’s southern and western military districts were heading back to base following the completion of drills. “The units . . . have already started loading on to rail and road transport and will start moving to their military garrisons today,” said Igor Konashenkov, a ministry spokesman.
“A number of combat training events, including exercises, have been carried out as planned. As the combat training events are over, the troops will, as always, perform combined marches to their permanent deployment points,” he added.
European and US equities rose on Tuesday while the oil price fell.
US officials offered a muted reaction to the partial pullback announcement from Moscow.
“We are aware of reports of Russian claims that they are withdrawing some forces away from the border with Ukraine. Our analysts are reviewing, but we have nothing further at this time,” a US defence official told the Financial Times.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said during a briefing on Tuesday on the issue of a Russian pullback: “Different statements are constantly being made from the Russian Federation, so we already have a rule: we will see, then we will believe.”
Russia has threatened “the most unpredictable and grave consequences” if the west does not agree to two draft security protocols that would roll back Nato’s presence in eastern Europe.
In a sign of continuing tensions, Russia’s lower house of parliament asked Putin to sign a resolution recognising two Moscow-backed separatist states in eastern Ukraine.
The Kremlin has given no indication as to whether Putin will back the measure, which would probably put an end to the fraught Minsk peace process governing the conflict in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
Additional reporting by James Politi in Washington
