MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia stated on Monday it was ready for a sign from Ukraine concerning Kyiv’s willingness to carry direct negotiations to finish the battle, however stated it didn’t to date see any indicators of motion.
The Kremlin stated final Friday that the potential of direct talks between the 2 sides had been raised throughout a three-hour assembly between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
Moscow and Kyiv haven’t held direct negotiations since March 2022, within the early weeks following the beginning of Russia’s full-scale battle in Ukraine. Later that yr, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy adopted a decree that dominated out negotiations with Putin, after Russia claimed 4 areas of Ukraine as its personal territory.
Zelenskiy, who met U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday, has stated Kyiv can be prepared to carry talks with Moscow as soon as a ceasefire deal is in place and the preventing has stopped.
Requested by a reporter if the sign for direct talks ought to come from Ukraine or the US, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated: “Nicely, from Kyiv, a minimum of Kyiv ought to take some actions on this regard. They’ve a authorized ban on this. However to date we do not see any motion.”
The 2 sides are underneath intense strain from the US to discover a settlement to the top the battle, the deadliest in Europe since World Battle Two.
Ukraine accuses Russia of taking part in for time as a way to attempt to seize extra of its territory, and has urged larger worldwide strain on Moscow to get it to cease preventing.
Russia accuses Ukraine of being unwilling to make any concessions and of in search of a ceasefire solely by itself phrases.
Putin advised Witkoff on Friday that Russia was prepared for talks with Kyiv with out preconditions, in line with a Kremlin aide.
Trump stated on Friday that the 2 sides have been “very near a deal”. In current days he has been extra essential than normal of Moscow, saying there was no motive for it to fireplace missiles into civilian areas and voicing concern that Putin was “simply tapping me alongside”.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou and Mark Trevelyan; Enhancing by Andrew Osborn)
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