LONDON — Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told the Izvestia newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday that Russia “still sees no reason for negotiations” to end Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House has reignited speculation about a possible deal to end Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor, which will be nearly three years old by the time Trump takes office.
Russia still occupies about 20% of Ukraine and claims to have fully annexed four regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia—although it only partially occupies the areas it claims.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his top officials have repeatedly said that Kiev and its Western partners must accept the “new territorial realities” of Russia’s occupation, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov listens to Russian President Vladimir Putin before a signing ceremony of the Accord at the presidential residence in Astana, Kazakhstan, on November 27, 2024.
Ramil Sitdikov/AP
Moscow and Kiev have raised the possibility of renewing peace talks in recent weeks, although the two sides still appear far apart on key issues. These include the fate of partially or fully occupied Ukrainian regions and Kyiv’s ambition to join NATO.
Peskov told Izvestia that “many countries have expressed their readiness” for possible peace talks, including Qatar.
“In fact, the emirate has been a very active mediator in several areas, it has been quite effective,” he added. “Also, our bilateral relations with Qatar are developing perfectly. We are grateful to all states, including Qatar, for their goodwill.”
The leaders of Russia and Ukraine have been spending the last few months of President Joe Biden’s tenure in office trying to gain significant leverage on the military and diplomatic fronts.
Former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson announced Wednesday that he had returned to Russia to interview Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Carlson interviewed Putin in February and has been a harsh critic of the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy, on the other hand, has spent the last week receiving visits from high-ranking allies in Kiev. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Council President Antonio Costa and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas traveled to the Ukrainian capital, where Scholz announced $680 million in new military aid.
The US also announced this week the final installment of about $750 million in military aid. Zelenskyy said that this support is “what we need”.
Ukrainian forces “need significant reinforcements, primarily through the arms of our partners,” the president said Tuesday amid difficult battlefield conditions.
In this photo taken from a video released by the Russian Ministry of Defense on December 3, 2024, a “Grad” multiple rocket launcher fires at Ukrainian positions in Russia’s Kursk region.
AP
Russian forces continue to advance in eastern Ukraine, and efforts are underway to push Ukrainian troops out of Russia’s western Kursk region, where Kyiv forces took positions in a surprise offensive in August.
Meanwhile, both sides continue long-range drone and missile attacks. Russian strikes target Ukraine’s energy grid, and Kyiv continues to hit military sites and oil infrastructure facilities.
On Wednesday, Ukraine’s air force reported that 28 Russian drones had been launched into the country overnight, of which 22 were shot down and three were shot down. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 35 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Speculation of peace talks looks set to continue until Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
Oleksandr Merezhko — a member of parliament representing Zelenskyy’s party and chairman of the body’s foreign affairs committee — told ABC News that Russia is likely to soften its flexible negotiating position in 2025.
“Putin fears Trump and thinks he is more unpredictable and stronger than Biden,” said Merezhko, who last month nominated the president-elect for next year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
“At the moment, Putin is in a hurry to take as much territory as he can and get the Kursk region back,” Merezhko said. “Trump is trying to improve his position before coming to power and before possible negotiations.”
Firefighters work at an energy infrastructure facility hit by a Russian drone strike on December 3, 2024, in the Rivne region of Ukraine.
State Emergency Service of Ukraine / via Reuters
