In a recent interview with The New York Times, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia has no interest in a peace agreement with Ukraine at this time. This admission, which was promoted by Russian state media, comes as some American politicians have suggested that the United States could broker a deal by withholding arms and pressuring Ukraine to make territorial concessions.
Peskov emphasized that there are currently no grounds for an agreement and that Russia will continue its operations in Ukraine for the foreseeable future. Russia has previously accused the US and other Western governments of undermining negotiations to end the conflict.
This rejection of a peace deal follows a summit in Saudi Arabia where diplomats from various countries, including China, India, and the US, discussed the war in Ukraine. Notably, Russia was not involved in these discussions. During the summit, Ukraine presented a 10-point peace plan that calls for the withdrawal of all Russian forces from its territory. However, Russia has flatly rejected these calls.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously described Ukraine as a fiction and has asserted that it wrongly gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Last September, Russia announced the annexation of four regions in eastern Ukraine, claiming that their residents would become Russian citizens forever. However, Russia does not have control over all of the territory in question.
Peskov stated that Russia does not intend to annex all of Ukraine but emphasized that they want to control the land that they currently consider theirs.
It is important to note that these statements were made by Russian officials and should be interpreted within the context of their perspective. The situation in Ukraine remains complicated, with ongoing conflict and differing viewpoints on potential solutions.