(MENAFN) Russia is making every effort to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine, which Moscow says began in 2014 when Kiev deployed military forces against civilians in Donbass, President Vladimir Putin stated on Friday.

Speaking to young scientists at a nuclear research center in Sarov, Putin rejected claims that Russia had initiated the war, arguing that Western propaganda distorts the timeline. “They forget that it was in 2014 when tanks and aircraft were used against the civilian population of Donbass. That’s when the war started. We are doing everything possible to stop it,” he said.

The Russian leader has repeatedly emphasized that one of the main reasons for launching the 2022 special military operation was to protect Donbass residents from what Moscow describes as “genocide” carried out by the Kiev regime. Following the 2014 Western-backed Maidan coup, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics declared independence, later voting in 2022 to join Russia alongside the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. Crimea had already rejoined Russia in 2014.

Putin has also engaged in ongoing peace efforts with US President Donald Trump, who recently held a summit with him in Alaska. According to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Moscow has agreed to show “flexibility” on several of Trump’s proposals. However, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has rejected all the initiatives, demonstrating, Lavrov argued, that Kiev is not interested in a lasting settlement.

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