MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Wednesday described as “positive” the fact that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed readiness for talks to end the three-year conflict with Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said Tuesday he was “ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer” amid an unprecedented rift between Ukraine and key ally the United States.
“This approach is generally positive,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
In an address to US Congress on Tuesday, President Donald Trump read aloud from a letter he said he had received from Zelensky in which he said he was ready for peace talks.
The Kremlin has repeatedly thrown doubt on whether it would hold talks with Zelensky.
On Wednesday, Peskov cited a decree passed by Zelensky that rules out direct negotiations with Putin.
The Ukrainian leader has since said on multiple occasions he would be willing to meet Putin — but only after Kyiv and its Western allies agree on a common negotiating position.
Moscow has also accused Zelensky of not being a legitimate leader, citing the expiration of his five-year mandate following his 2019 election as president.
Under Ukrainian martial law, elections are banned during wartime.
Zelensky’s key European backers have supported the suspension of votes amid war with Russia, though Trump has claimed the Ukrainian leader is widely unpopular at home and called on him to hold elections.
Trump announced a halt to US military aid to Kyiv this week following his clash with Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday.
Trump is trying to convince Ukraine to accept a peace deal with Russia.
Belarus offers to host Russia-Ukraine talks
Meanwhile, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday offered to host Russia-Ukraine truce talks that could involve US officials.
Belarus previously hosted talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in 2014 and 2015 mediated by France and Germany, resulting in the Minsk agreements of 2014 and 2015, named after the Belarusian capital.
“Tell Trump that I expect him here with Putin and Zelensky,” Lukashenko proposed to the three leaders in a video interview with US blogger Mario Nawfal, reported by state news agency Belta.
Minsk is under US and European sanctions over its support for Russia’s military action in Ukraine.
The 70-year-old president went on: “We are going to sit down and calmly make an accord. If you want to make an accord.”
Lukashenko said there had to be a deal with Zelensky “since a large part of Ukrainian society is with him”.
Lukashenko also praised Trump’s efforts to talk with Russia to end the three-year conflict.
“Trump is a good guy, he talks about it a lot and has already done something to end the war in Ukraine and the war in the Middle East,” Lukashenko said.
“It seems to me that his only policy is one aiming to end the war. It is a brilliant idea.”
