Russia states that the initiation of direct peace negotiations should be initiated by Ukraine

On Monday, Russia announced that it is awaiting a signal from Ukraine indicating a willingness to engage in direct negotiations to resolve their conflict, but has not observed any indications of progress.

The Kremlin mentioned last Friday that the potential for direct discussions was brought up during a three-hour meeting between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

Since March 2022, shortly after the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow and Kyiv have not engaged in direct talks. Later that year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy issued a decree that prohibited negotiations with Putin following Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions.

Zelenskiy, who met with U.S. President Donald Trump during Pope Francis’ funeral, stated that Kyiv would be open to discussions with Moscow once a ceasefire is established. On Monday, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, remarked that ongoing Russian assaults contradicted the Kremlin’s claims of desiring peace.

‘Russia is not halting its fire at the front and is currently attacking Ukraine with Shahed drones,’ Yermak posted on Telegram, referring to the Iranian-made drones extensively utilized by Russian forces. ‘All of Russia’s assertions about peace while continuing to attack are simply false.’

When asked whether the initiative for direct talks should originate from Ukraine or the United States, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded, ‘It should come from Kyiv; at the very least, Kyiv needs to take some steps in this direction. They have a legal prohibition on this. However, we have yet to see any action.’

He added that Moscow would persist with its ‘special military operation.’ Both Moscow and Kyiv are facing pressure from the U.S. to reach a resolution to end the conflict, which has become the deadliest in Europe since World War II. Ukraine accuses Russia of stalling to gain more territory and has called for increased international pressure to compel Moscow to cease hostilities.

Conversely, Russia claims that Ukraine is unwilling to make any compromises and seeks a ceasefire solely on its own terms.

On Friday, Putin informed Witkoff that Russia is prepared to engage in discussions with Kyiv without any preconditions, as stated by a Kremlin aide.

Trump also mentioned on the same day that both parties were ‘very close to reaching an agreement.’ Recently, he has expressed heightened criticism towards Moscow, asserting that there is no justification for launching missiles into civilian regions and expressing worry that Putin is merely delaying progress.