On Wednesday Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that while Moscow values Washington’s mediation of the Ukraine conflict and hopes for its success, the U.S. cannot sign a peace plan on Ukraine’s behalf. The statement was in response to the imminent signing of a mineral deal between Washington and Kiev which aims to repay America for its financial aid to Ukraine.
The Kremlin official urged Kiev to enter into direct peace talks with Moscow, something Peskov signaled Russia’s ready for on Tuesday.
”A peace deal should be done with the Ukraine, not with America,” Peskov said Wednesday. “Unfortunately, we haven’t heard any statements in this context from Kiev, so we don’t know whether Kiev is ready or not.”
In 2022 Ukraine passed a law banning negotiations for peace with Russia. Moscow has repeatedly requested Ukraine rescind it.
“Peskov expressed gratitude toward the Trump administration for its diplomatic efforts, and observed that while Washington’s desire for a swift resolution is understandable, a peace deal is ‘too complicated to be achieved overnight’,” RT said.
The spokesman recently signaled to Ukraine that Russia is open for direct negotiations.
“The primary thing is to begin this negotiation process,” Peskov said Tuesday, as well as clarifying that all other questions are “secondary.” He said however that Moscow still does not believe Kiev is ready for peace negotiations.
President Donald Trump sees the mineral deal as a win-win. Not only repayment to the U.S. for its military aid, but a massive step toward bringing an end to the conflict. The deal got traction after Ukraine left their Dictator Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev and sent a team to negotiate the agreement with Washington.
Last week Trump entered the final stages of his Ukraine war negotiation plans, Wednesday’s mineral deal developments verify the White House’s efforts to this end.