Kremlin says Ukraine peace talks stance unchanged ahead of Lavrov-Rubio meeting
Russia said it remained open to peace talks as US state secretary Marco Rubio and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov planned to meet in New York.
On Wednesday, the Kremlin reiterated that Ukraine peace talks remain unfeasible despite expressing openness to such discussions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated, "For now, there are no prerequisites for moving onto a peaceful negotiating track, although we, as the Russian side, remain open to peace talks."
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed readiness for a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump to discuss peace. Russian spokesman Peskov confirmed Putin's willingness to meet Trump individually if both deemed it necessary. However, he reaffirmed that Russia's position on Putin and Zelensky meeting in person had not shifted.
Peskov argued against a summit, stating that "generally speaking, in any other circumstances, it would be inappropriate to hold a summit meeting before the groundwork has been laid at expert level, as this would be a waste of time." The Kremlin maintains that Zelensky must come to Moscow to meet Russia's demands, a demand that Kyiv has repeatedly rejected, favoring neutral locations for dialogues.
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