Aborted peace deal could be basis for talks, says Russia

ANaborted 2022 peace deal between Russia and Ukraine could be the basis for new negotiations but there is no sign that Kyiv is ready for talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that Russia and Ukraine were on the verge of agreeing a deal to end hostilities at talks in Istanbul in April 2022, but that Ukraine backed away from it once Russian troops fell back from near Kyiv.

The deal is reported to have included clauses demanding that Ukraine adopt a geopolitically neutral status and not join Nato, limit the size of its armed forces, and grant a special status to eastern Ukraine — all things which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made clear he opposes. In remarks on Thursday, Putin again raised the subject of potential peace talks and said he was open for what he called realistic negotiations but not for talks which Ukraine is holding which seek to bypass Moscow and do not, in his view, take new realities into account.

.&*1Ǡ 0/$)ǭ..+*& .( )Ǡ. $ '*/ had changed since 2022, including what he said was the addition to Russian territory of four new regions, a reference to the parts of Ukraine which Moscow has claimed as its own.

But Peskov said the aborted Istanbul deal could still be the basis for new talks and that Russia was ready for that. When asked if Moscow sensed any readiness from the Ukrainian side for talks however, .&*1 . $ ǡ Ǯ *Ǡ 2 *)ǭ/ . ). /# /ǟǯ Ukraine says it wants all of its territory back, including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014, and for every Russian soldier to leave its territory. It is trying to drive international talks on its stance which exclude Russia. Meanwhile, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Friday that the Netherlands will provide Ukraine with an additional 1 billion euros ($1.06 billion) in military support this year, and has earmarked 3 billion euros for 2025.

The extra support in 2024 takes the total sum for this year to 3 billion euros and will be complemented by 400 million euros in

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In another incident, Russell Bentley, an American who fought against Ukrainian forces, is missing in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, police there said on Friday, adding that a search was under way.

Bentley went missing on April 8, they said. The online news outlet Mash said # # $. ++ - Ƥ - $./-$ / $) /# city of Donetsk was shelled by Ukrainian forces.

Mash cited his wife as saying he had gone to see if anyone needed help but had not returned. She was quoted as saying she had found his car with his baseball cap in it along with his smashed mobile phone and a pair of glasses. Bentley, 64, is a selfdeclared supporter of Russian-backed forces in Ukraine.

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