Putin urges Kiev to hold direct dialogue with insurgents

The conflict in Ukraine can only end if Kiev holds direct talks with representatives of the insurgents in the eastern region, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday.

"Russia strongly calls for a comprehensive and exclusively peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis based on the Minsk agreements, which were largely achieved owing to the initiative and efforts of the Russian side," Putin told Egypt's state-run Al- Ahram newspaper before his state visit to Cairo.

Ukrainians need to "gather around the negotiating table" and Russia will continue to make efforts to facilitate "sustainable and direct contacts" between Kiev and the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR), Putin said.

In his view, the most important condition for the stabilization of current situation is "the immediate ceasefire and ending of a so-called 'anti-terrorist', but in fact punitive, operation in the eastern Ukraine."

"Kiev's attempts to exert economic pressure on Donbas and disrupt its daily life only aggravate the situation. This is a dead-end track, fraught with great disasters," said Putin, according to the interview transcript posted online.

Meanwhile, Putin claimed that it is "evident" the crisis will continue until agreements are reached among Ukrainians themselves, stressing that Ukrainian leadership needs to develop a " constitutional state system formula."

Those statements came just after Putin's talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande aiming to peacefully settle Ukraine crisis.

The president also expressed worries that "Ukraine is rapidly militarized." Preliminary data show that Ukraine's military budget is expected to more than triple and reach over 3 billion U.S. dollars this year, not to mention the recent military mobilization decree, Putin noted.

"We see how external support has incited the 'party of war' in Kiev and dragged Ukrainian people into the abyss of a national catastrophe," Putin said, accusing the U.S. and its western allies of plotting the Ukraine crisis.

Putin also mentioned the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's " hollow statements" of no eastward expansion, as the alliance totally ignored Russia's interests.

During the interview, Putin also imputed blame to "heavy-handed and irresponsible" outside interference for the rise of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in Syria and Iraq.

He vowed that Russia would continue its efforts in fighting terrorism, and play its part in resolving the Iran nuclear issue and Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Endite