Putin Says Russia Never Closed Door to Europe Dialogue

Putin's framing of Europe as the party that broke off contact, delivered in a meeting with US envoys rather than European officials, is itself the signal: Moscow is routing its diplomatic messaging through Washington while casting Brussels as the obstacle. The paired rejection of foreign troops in Ukraine sets a condition that any European security guarantee would collide with, which matters for how postwar arrangements are discussed. Whether this reflects a genuine opening or positioning ahead of further US-Russia contacts is the open question.