Moscow agrees on need for peace, but no talks for now
Kremlin’s response came after remarks by the US secy of state even as it claimed drone attacks from Ukraine presented a danger to Russia
KYIV/MOSCOW: Russia said on Tuesday that it can agree with the United States about the need for lasting peace in Ukraine, but played down the prospect of negotiations until it achieves the goals of its “special military operation”.
Both US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have said they are open to diplomacy on Ukraine, but a meeting between the two leaders has not been organised and neither side agrees on the conditions for talks.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken said in an interview on Monday that the conflict in
Ukraine, now in its 10th month, would almost certainly end with diplomacy and negotiations, and that “just and durable peace” was needed.
Responding to Blinken’s comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he agreed about the need for peace.
“That the outcome should be a just and durable peace - one can agree with this,” he said. “But as for the prospects for some kind of negotiations, we don’t see them at the moment, we have repeatedly said so.” Asked what would have to happen for such prospects to materialise, he said: “The goals of the special military operation must be achieved. Russia must and will achieve the goals it has set.”
Russia’s goals in Ukraine have not been fully defined, and appear to have shifted as its forces face setbacks on the battlefield, although it has said it will never give up occupied territory in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Kyiv has ruled out conceding any land to Russia in return for peace, and demands Russia return all the territory it has seized and occupied, including Crimea and land held by Russia or its proxies since 2014.
Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday met with top officials on Russia’s “domestic security” as the Kremlin said the latest Ukrainian drone attacks presented a danger to the country.
Earlier on Tuesday, authorities said that a drone had struck near an airfield in Russia’s Kursk region bordering Ukraine, a day after Moscow blamed Kyiv for drone strikes at two other airfields. Speaking to reporters separately, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said authorities were taking “necessary” measures to protect the country from Ukrainian attacks.
Ukrainians worked to restore power on Tuesday after Russia’s latest wave of missile strikes caused power disruptions across the country, right as winter frost builds and temperatures plunge. Fresh power cuts were announced in all regions “due to the consequences of shelling”, national electricity provider Ukrenergo said on Telegram.
Nearly half of Ukraine’s energy system has already been damaged after months of strikes on power infrastructure, leaving people in the cold and dark for hours at a time as outdoor temperatures drop below zero degrees Celsius.
Ukrainian embassies get more ‘bloody packages’
Ukrainian embassies have received more “bloody packages”, Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Tuesday, adding that the country’s embassies in Romania and Denmark received such parcels on Tuesday.
Over the past week, Ukrainian missions in several European countries have been sent packages containing animal eyes and coated in a pungent liquid. No one has claimed responsibility for sending the packages, more than nine months into Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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