Russian President Vladimir Putin is still open to talks, the Kremlin stated on Friday, but Russia is not prepared for talks with the US under the precondition of “removal from Ukraine.”
Dmitry Peskov, the Russian government’s spokesman, made his comments the day after US President Joe Biden indicated he was ready to speak with the Russian leader if he showed interest in settling the conflict that erupted in February.
“The targeted military action keeps going. However, using peaceful, diplomatic means to further our goals is always preferred “At a press conference in Moscow, Peskov stated.
He recalled that before beginning its “special military operation,” Putin tried to allay fears diplomatically and peacefully, but the US, NATO, and the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe did not support his approach.
The US’s “refusal to recognize new Russian territories,” Peskov continued, complicates efforts to find common ground. He was referring to the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, where polls in September were denounced by the West as “sham.”