The Kremlin said on Friday that it wants the war in Ukraine to end as soon as possible, but attempts to find a solution are stalled, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to the words of US President Donald Trump on Friday, who said during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban: "I think we agree that this war will end in the not-so-near future".
In front of journalists, Peskov reiterated Moscow's position that the war will end only when Russia achieves its goals and prefers to do this through political and diplomatic means.
"But right now it is on pause, the situation is at a standstill. It is stalled through no fault of ours," he added, blaming Ukraine.
Kiev and its European allies have rejected Moscow's accusations that they are blocking peace efforts. No direct talks between Russia and Ukraine have taken place since July 23.
Trump has tried to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to meet, but the Kremlin has said such a meeting can only take place in Moscow - a condition that Zelensky has rejected. He has repeatedly said he does not believe Putin truly wants peace.
Peskov said it was Kiev that did not want to continue the dialogue.
"They are being incited in every way by the Europeans who think that Ukraine can win the war and guarantee its interests by military means," he noted.
Peskov added that this was a profound misconception, given the situation on the front.
As the war nears its fourth year, Russia controls about 19 percent of Ukrainian territory and is trying hard to capture the cities of Pokrovsk and Kupyansk.