In a major setback to US President Donald Trump’s efforts, Kremlin on Friday said that peace talks with Ukraine are on hold as of now, and it blamed European countries for hindering the process. In a statement, Moscow said there was a pause on negotiations, adding that, “the fact that the Europeans are hindering this is indeed true. This is not a secret to anyone.”
“Our negotiators have the opportunity to communicate through channels. But for now, it is probably more accurate to talk about a pause. You can’t wear rose-tinted glasses and expect that the negotiation process will yield immediate results,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said as per AFP.
According to Reuters, the negotiators from both Russia and Ukraine have held three rounds of direct talks this year in Istanbul, most recently on July 23. During these talks, they made some progress as they agreed to return prisoners of war and the bodies of the dead. But they have not made any assurances on a possible peace deal.
In the fresh statement, Russia has accused Kyiv of not recognising what it calls “the realities on the ground”, while Ukraine has maintained that Moscow is not interested in talks, adding that it was trying to take more of its territory. This comes amid renewed efforts by the US President to broker a deal.
Kremlin blames Europe for peace talks mess
In the statement, the Kremlin said while Russia is open to talks, the negotiations have been put on hold and this is all due to European countries.
“The channels of communication are in place and functioning. Our negotiators have the opportunity to communicate through these channels. But for now, it is probably more accurate to say that there is a pause,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Moscow has expressed displeasure towards the proposals by European countries and Britain to provide security guarantees to Ukraine that might involve deploying NATO troops on the ground after any peace settlement. Russia maintained its stance saying it could not accept such a move.
“The Russian side remains ready to pursue the path of peaceful dialogue. But the fact that the Europeans are hindering this is indeed true. This is not a secret to anyone,” Peskov said.
Trump indicates increasing frustration with Russian President Putin
US President Trump, meanwhile, expressed frustration on Putin not agreeing for peace talks in the manner he wanted. When asked in an interview with Fox and Friends on Fox News whether he was running out of patience with Putin, Trump said, “It’s sort of running out and running out fast”
“…but it does take two to tango… When Putin wants to do it, Zelenskyy didn’t. When Zelenskyy wanted to do it, Putin didn’t… We’re going to have to come down very, very strong,” he added, quoted ANI.