Russia does not believe that the peace talks with Ukraine are at a standstill despite comments by US President Donald Trump about Russian President Vladimir Putin and the resumption of some US arms supplies to Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
Trump said on Tuesday that he was disappointed with Putin and accused the Russian head of state of showering the US with “a lot of nonsense“.
In response to a question from Reuters whether the peace process for Ukraine is at a standstill due to Trump's comments and the resumption of US arms supplies, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that he did not believe that was the case.
According to Peskov, Russia is waiting for a signal from Kiev whether the Ukrainian side will participate in the third round of talks that began in May in Istanbul.
“We have repeatedly said that we would prefer to achieve our goals through peaceful political and diplomatic means, but since this is not happening, the special military operation continues and the real situation on the ground changes every day“, the Kremlin spokesman said.
Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022, after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops, Reuters recalls.
The United States says that since the start of the war in 2022 More than 1.2 million people have been killed or wounded.
Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly called for an end to the "bloodshed" in Ukraine, which his administration says is a proxy war between the United States and Russia.
Putin, whose forces control a fifth of Ukraine and are advancing on the battlefield, has stuck to his terms for ending the war despite pressure from Trump and repeated warnings from European powers.
In June 2024, Putin said Ukraine must formally abandon its ambitions to join NATO and withdraw its troops from all four Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia.