ST. PETERSBURG - Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are prepared to resume direct talks after June 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday during a meeting with the leaders of major global news agencies in St. Petersburg.

Putin reaffirmed Russia's openness to dialogue, including a possible meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, he raised concerns over the legitimacy of Zelensky's authority.

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"I am ready to meet with anyone, including Zelensky," Putin said. "That is not the issue. If Ukraine entrusts him to negotiate, let it be Zelensky. The real question is: who will sign any resulting documents? We are not dealing with propaganda here; when it comes to serious matters, what matters is not political messaging but legal legitimacy."

Putin also said that if no peaceful resolution is reached, Russia will pursue its objectives in Ukraine by military means.

"Undoubtedly, if we fail to reach an agreement through peaceful negotiations, we will achieve our goals by military means," he said.

He reiterated that the aim of Russia's special military operation is the demilitarization of Ukraine, depriving it of the capacity to maintain military forces that could endanger Russia.

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Putin also noted that Russia is prepared to hand over the bodies of an additional 3,000 fallen Ukrainian soldiers.

"We have returned the bodies of 6,000 fallen Ukrainian soldiers. We are ready to hand over approximately 3,000 more," he said.

"These are, I repeat, sad and tragic figures," Putin said.

He also said that Russia does not consider any rearmament efforts by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a threat to its national security.

"We do not see any NATO rearmament as a threat to the Russian Federation, because we are self-sufficient in terms of ensuring our own security," Putin said.

Putin emphasized that Russia continuously enhances its military and defense capabilities. "Whatever NATO does, of course, creates certain risks, but we are fully capable of neutralizing all emerging threats. There is no doubt about that," he said.

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Putin also questioned the rationale behind NATO member states increasing their defense budgets, suggesting such actions are unnecessary. "Any rearmament or raising budgets to five percent of GDP by NATO countries makes no sense," he added.

His remarks came amid growing discussions within NATO about increasing defense spending. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently indicated that all NATO members are expected to agree to raise defense expenditures to five percent of GDP over the next decade.