Russia is open to dialogue with the Europeans on the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin’s spokesman said today.
“The Russians are ready for talks,” Dmitry Peskov said. “We believe that it is always better to talk than to drive the situation into total confrontation – which is what the Europeans are currently doing,”
Russia would welcome a change of attitude, Peskov said. Citing recent statements by Finnish President Alexander Stump and from Berlin about the prospect of direct talks with Moscow, the Kremlin spokesman commented that “it is probably not a bad thing” to seek a negotiator at the European Union level.
“Just a few months ago, such discussions were not even taking place in Europe,”
Peskov noted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has always said he was ready for talks if he found there was such a will. At the same time, however, Moscow had repeatedly stressed that the Europeans should be considered parties to the conflict, given that they are arming Ukraine with weapons, and therefore have no place at the negotiating table.
Search for a suitable intermediary
Negotiations aimed at ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine have been conducted recently with US mediation, but with no progress evident.
The main reason is that Russia is sticking to its demand to withdraw all Ukrainian troops from the Donbass region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has categorically rejected such territorial concessions.
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Asked recently by a Russian journalist which European he would prefer in the role of mediator, Putin mentioned former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, with whom he maintains friendly relations. Ukraine rejects the possibility of Schroeder taking on the role of mediator in the negotiations, citing his close ties with the Russian leadership.
Kremlin’s spokesman clarified today that Putin did not specifically suggest Schroeder, but mentioned his name in response to a specific question.
For his part, Putin also ruled out the possibility that someone who has made disparaging comments about Russia could take on the role of mediator.
It remains unclear which EU official might be suitable for this role. An obvious choice would be European diplomacy chief Kaya Kalash, but Moscow has accused her of being hostile to Russia and refusing to engage in dialogue with it.
