Russia has said the West’s refusal to recognize “new territories” captured by Ukraine is making peace talks more difficult.
This comes after US President Joe Biden expressed his willingness to meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has said it is open to negotiations, but not on the Western request for withdrawal from Ukraine.
In late September, Russia announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, without establishing control over any of them.
Nine months after the invasion, Russia lost control of more than half of the territories it had previously conquered.
On Thursday evening, the US president told reporters he was willing to meet with the Russian leader “if he has a sincere desire to find a way to end the war.”
image copyright SHAWN THEW/EPA
While standing next to the French president at a White House news conference, President Biden made remarks about possible talks with his Russian counterpart
In a joint press conference at the White House, French President Emmanuel Macron said he and his US counterpart Biden had agreed not to push Ukrainians into a deal that “would be unacceptable to them”.
This speech on diplomatic activity comes after months of no strong signs of willingness to hold talks.
The Russian military has been forced to withdraw into southern Ukraine, where it is launching large-scale attacks on civilian infrastructure.
On Friday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with President Putin for the first time since September.
Berlin said that during the hour-long phone call, the German leader urged his Russian counterpart to seek a diplomatic solution that would include withdrawing Russian forces from Ukraine “as quickly as possible”.
The Kremlin said the German side was pushing for the appeal and Putin urged Berlin to “reconsider its handling of the context of Ukrainian events”.
The Kremlin added that Putin drew attention to the “destructive behavior of Western countries, including Germany”.
As for Kiev, it completely rejects the idea of talks, according to the Kremlin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin was still open to talks aimed at “guaranteeing our interests”.
Peskov added that Moscow was certainly not ready to accept US terms. The Kremlin spokesman asked: “What did President Biden say, in fact? He said that negotiations will be possible only after Putin’s withdrawal from Ukraine.”
Peskov went on to say that the United States’ failure to recognize Russia’s annexation of “new territories” makes finding common ground for talks difficult.
In late September, Putin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions to Russia. Russian forces occupy most of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, halting the Russian invasion of Donetsk, while Russian forces are retreating to Kherson and Zaporizhya in the south.
Prior to Friday’s phone call between Schultz and Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said European countries had so far provided nothing in terms of mediation.
“Macron, by the way, has confirmed in the past two weeks that he is planning a talk with the Russian president,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov added that Russia has not received any signals through diplomatic channels. Lavrov told former US Secretary of State John Kerry that he was the kind of person who could solve problems and engage in real dialogue.
On Friday, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the time had come to work towards a just peace for Ukraine. But this must be done through Kyiv’s independence, not its surrender.
Tajani told La Repubblica: The Kremlin “should give tangible signals instead of bombing the population with explosives”.
image copyright SARAH RAINFORD/BBC
The Bishop of Canterbury visited a bombed out bridge in Irpin, as well as a site containing a mass grave for civilians.
During a visit to Ukraine, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said there could be no peace until Russia stopped lying about what it was doing in Ukraine.
From the district of Buca in the province of Kyivska, where Russian forces are accused of war crimes linked to the killing of hundreds of civilians, the archbishop of Canterbury said: “It is not possible to proceed on the basis of lies. Atrocities have been committed here. “
