Kremlin sets terms for talks with Ukraine — RT Russia and the former Soviet Union

Peace negotiations could only begin between Russia and Ukraine if Moscow sees a real « political willfrom kyiv to engage in dialogue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Earlier this month, he noted that Ukrainian leaders seemed reluctant to sit down for talks just yet.

When asked by Russian journalists on Tuesday whether there were any preconditions for opening a possible dialogue between Moscow and Kyiv, Peskov said: « It must be a political will, a willingness to discuss long-known Russian demands.”

Speaking via video link at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia in mid-November, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky stressed that « there will be no Minsk-3 [agreement]that Russia would violate right after sealing it.”

The Ukrainian head of state was referring to the Minsk-1 and Minsk-2 agreements negotiated by Germany and France in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The agreements provided, among other things, for a special status for the Donetsk and Lugansk regions within the Ukrainian state.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited kyiv’s failure to implement the accords as one of the reasons for Moscow’s start of a military campaign against its neighbor in late February 2022.

Commenting on Zelensky’s remarks at the G20 summit, Peskov argued at the time that they « absolutely confirm” Kyiv’s reluctance to engage in talks.

Addressing the leaders in Bali, the Ukrainian head of state listed ten demands that he said would lead to peace. Among them are the complete withdrawal of Russian forces from all Ukrainian territories and respect for the country’s 1991 borders, drawn after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Since then, however, several regions have voted to become part of Russia, including Crimea.

Zelensky’s speech in early November came shortly after The Washington Post reported that the Biden administration had privately asked kyiv to signal its willingness to hold talks with Russia. The United States has reportedly feared kyiv’s irreconcilable stance could see support from some of its Western nations dwindle amid what unnamed White House officials have described as growing.Ukrainian fatigue.”

The article claimed that Washington was not serious about bringing kyiv to negotiate, and was only seeking to ensure that arms and other aid continued to flow from as many nations as possible.