The Kremlin has slammed the brakes on peace talks to end Russia’s four-and-a-half-year war with Ukraine, declaring negotiations are on a “deep pause” just days after the CIA director secretly traveled to Moscow.
The stunning admission marks a shift from earlier this summer, when Moscow said it remained engaged in negotiations with US officials.
“Our troops are making gains on the front lines,” Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday. “As for peace talks, that topic is currently on a deep pause.”
He continued: “There are no new ideas. The Ukrainian side is well aware of our demands. They just don’t want to discuss them peacefully.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t budged from his demand that Ukraine surrender full control of the Donbass region as a prerequisite for any ceasefire agreement — a nonstarter for Kyiv.
The Kremlin’s comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the US for the “necessary tone of the conversation with Russia” earlier this week.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a secret four-hour visit to Moscow Tuesday, where he warned Putin against escalating the war and testing NATO’s resolve with a possible attack on an alliance member in Eastern Europe, according to reports.
US intelligenceindicated Putin was considering “a small-scale land incursion, likely on a Baltic nation,” such as Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania.
There was a series of meetings,” Zelensky posted on X. “We value the alignment of steps and the fact that America is advancing a realistic vision of what needs to be done and what must be achieved.”
But Kyiv also hinted that a ceasefire was not in the cards.
Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, said the fighting would continue through the upcoming winter, according to the Kyiv Post.
The only meaningful discussions currently taking place between Moscow and Kyiv are limited talks over prisoner exchanges, Budanov said.
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