Putin says Russia-Ukraine relations will normalise after 'special military operation'

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday at the St Petersburg Economic Forum that Russia anticipates restoring relations with Ukraine after the "special military operation" in that country concludes.

During a question-and-answer session with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Putin said: "sooner or later, the situation will return to normal".

Russia deployed tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine on Feb. 24, in what it calls a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine. Both Ukraine and Western nations say that is a pretext for an unprovoked war of aggression.