US President Donald Trump is correct to say that Ukraine peace talks are in their final phase, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
Trump hosted Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky in Miami on Sunday for the latest round of discussions on a possible peace proposal for Russia. Asked whether Trump was right to assert that the world is now much closer to peace, Peskov said that “certainly” was the case.
During his joint press conference with Zelensky, Trump said the deal was 95% ready, even though he personally didn’t like to measure progress in percentages. “We’re doing very well,” he added. “We could be very close.”
Peskov said Trump is yet to brief Putin on the details of his latest talks with Zelensky, which the two leaders agreed would happen in a phone call soon. He also reiterated Moscow’s reluctance to make public comments about the specifics of American mediation.
Earlier, Zelensky revealed a 20-point plan that he claimed was under consideration, but Trump did not express support for the draft during the joint press conference. When asked later whether the US had a ‘Plan B’ should its mediation fail, Zelensky said that Russia should be the party thinking about a backup, because allegedly “Russia’s ‘Plan A’ is war.”
When asked about the remarks, Peskov said Kiev should heed Trump’s warnings that the situation on the front was getting worse for Ukrainian troops every day. He stressed that “Russia is seeking the suspension of the military conflict in the context of achieving its objectives.”
Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly stated that Moscow has always preferred to seek diplomatic solutions to all differences and considers military action only as a last resort, which was the case with Ukraine. Russia sees NATO’s increasing involvement in Ukraine and Kiev’s discriminatory policies targeting ethnic Russians as the key causes of the crisis.