Kremlin accuses Ukraine of delaying peace talks

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The Kremlin accused Ukraine on Monday of "artificially slowing down" peace talks and reiterated that European countries are "interfering" in them, lamenting the lack of attention to the causes of the Russian invasion that began in 2022.

"On Kyiv's side, the process is being artificially slowed down. No one wants to address the essence of the conflict. The Europeans are interfering in the matter and will not pay attention to the underlying causes of the crisis, paving the way for discussion of ways to resolve them," argued Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The spokesman reiterated that “Russia remains open and ready for dialogue” and “interested and willing to resolve the Ukrainian crisis through political and diplomatic means.”

Peskov insisted that there is a pause in the negotiations, denouncing that “ there is no flexibility in the Ukrainian position and no willingness on the part of the Kiev regime to actually start serious discussions.”

"These meetings and any contact at the highest level must be well prepared so that such dialogue and the events—which must occur in advance, at the expert level—can be implemented. Neither the Kiev regime nor the Europeans are ready for this," Peskov concluded.

Moscow has accused European countries of contributing to the dragging on of the conflict by supporting Ukraine.

Recently, 26 countries agreed to send troops to Ukraine as part of the security guarantees Kiev has requested from its allies in the event of a ceasefire.

US President Donald Trump, who has assumed the role of mediator between Moscow and Kyiv, wants at all costs to achieve a swift end to the large-scale Russian offensive launched in 2022. But the positions of the two sides appear, for now, irreconcilable.

Russia demands Ukraine's demilitarization and surrender, as well as the cession of the Ukrainian regions it has claimed annexation, although without fully controlling them. Kyiv, for its part, considers these conditions unacceptable and demands security guarantees from Western allies, fearing a new Russian attack, even if a peace agreement were reached.

Russia invaded and annexed Crimea in 2014 and, since the 2022 invasion, has declared the regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia annexed.

Moscow and Kyiv held three rounds of direct negotiations in Istanbul this year, in May, June and July, in which they only agreed to the exchange of prisoners of war and soldiers' bodies.

As for the rest, they simply presented their respective positions on what should be the formula for resolving the conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has further hardened his stance since the mid-August summit with Trump in Alaska, after which he refused to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.

He also refused to declare a ceasefire and send Western troops to Ukraine.