Ukraine confirmed its readiness for peace talks “in any format”, but stressed that it expects real actions from Russia, and not just demonstrations of “peaceful populism”. This was stated on the social network X (formerly Twitter) by the deputy head of the presidential administration Andriy Sibiga, in response to comments from Moscow that the Kremlin is ready for talks without preconditions, News.bg reports.
“Ukraine once again confirms its readiness for peace talks when we see that Russia is truly ready to take the difficult path to peace, and is not just looking for a temporary propaganda ceasefire for the May 9 parade”, wrote Sibiga.
Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin had expressed "readiness for direct negotiations with the Ukrainians without any preconditions", but according to him "it is still not clear whether Kiev is ready for this".
In response, the Ukrainian side proposed a concrete step: Russia to accept a real ceasefire for at least 30 days - an idea that has also been expressed by President Volodymyr Zelensky. "If Russia is ready for 60 or 90 days - we are ready too", added Sibiga.
“Russia must stop talking about readiness for peace and start acting. Only when the guns fall silent can real negotiations begin,“ the Ukrainian diplomat stressed.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by “Reuters“, said that President Putin remains open to political and diplomatic methods for resolving the conflict in Ukraine. According to him, intensive talks are underway with the United States, but due to the complexity of the situation, rapid progress is difficult to achieve.
“Russia's goals must be achieved, and Moscow prefers this to happen peacefully,“ Peskov added.