Putin points to 'Russia' detail in Raisi's helicopter crash

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Belarus. Making his second foreign trip since being re-elected president to his closest ally, Belarus, Putin met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in the capital, Minsk.

The two leaders held a joint press conference following their meeting. Stating that they discussed many issues regarding bilateral relations, Putin said, "Today's talks were quite productive.

With the participation of our deputy prime ministers and ministers, we addressed many issues in the fields of defense, security, economy, culture, and humanitarian affairs," he said.

"WE MOVED THE NEGOTIATIONS TO TURKEY"

Referring to Russia not being invited to the conference on Ukraine planned to be held in Switzerland next June, Putin blamed Western countries for the failure of the initial negotiations with Ukraine that took place in Istanbul.

Putin stated, "I have said this many times. Russia has never rejected negotiations. Moreover, we started these negotiations in Belarus, and then, at the request of the Ukrainian side, we moved them to Turkey, to Istanbul." Noting that an agreement was reached and a draft was prepared within the framework of the negotiations, Putin added, "The head of the Ukrainian negotiating team signed some articles.

In principle, both the Ukrainian side and the Russian side were generally satisfied with the agreement. There were some points that needed to be finalized, but in general, I repeat, if the Ukrainian side signed this document, it means that the Ukrainian side was satisfied with it," he said.

"WHO WILL BE NEGOTIATED WITH?"

Putin criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who remains in office despite his official term ending on May 20, citing martial law and mobilization due to the war. Arguing that it is unclear who will be at the negotiating table due to Zelenskyy's status, Putin said, "This is not an idle question. With whom should we negotiate? We are aware that the legitimacy of the current President Zelenskyy has expired."

He continued, "I believe one of the goals of the conference announced to be held in Switzerland is to have the Western community, which sponsors the Kyiv regime, confirm the legitimacy of the incumbent president or the president who is already inactive."

Stating that the steps taken have no official standing, Putin said, "We need to know who we need to sign legally binding documents with and who we can reach an agreement with. Then we must be completely sure that we are dealing with legitimate authorities. I think this question should be answered in Ukraine primarily by the parliament, the Constitutional Court, or some other government bodies."

"IF IT HAD BEEN MAINTAINED, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO PROBLEM"

Belarusian President Lukashenko touched upon the helicopter crash of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Pointing out that Iran has been unable to continue its technological development due to sanctions by the US and Western nations, Lukashenko stated that the helicopters might not have been maintained due to these sanctions.

Lukashenko said, "They had no right to impose sanctions on their passenger ships, planes, helicopters, and other means of transport. Is this normal? You sold this helicopter. It doesn't matter if it has been used for 40-50 years. It might have only flown 3 times in 50 years. Perhaps if it had been properly maintained, such a problem would not have occurred."

Taking the floor after Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin pointed out that Russian helicopters were also in the convoy carrying Raisi, responding, "Since the other two helicopters in the delegation were Russian, no problems occurred despite them being on the same route and under the same conditions."