One day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government had extended an invitation to revisit peace negotiations with Russia, the Kremlin responded by saying it’s open to peace, so long as its “goals” are achieved. The comment did not mention President Donald Trump’s threats earlier this week to levy “severe tariffs” on Moscow unless it ends the war within 50 days.
The Kremlin’s response also comes one day before NATO’s Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which includes Secretary General Mark Rutte, is set to meet virtually.
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‘Our goals are clear’: Peskov
During an interview with state television Sunday, July 20, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia remains committed to achieving peace with Ukraine. However, that peace is contingent on one “main thing.”
“The main thing for us is to achieve our goals,” Peskov said. “Our goals are clear.”
Those goals, much to the detriment of Ukraine and its Western allies, include completely handing over four Ukrainian territories Russia has illegally annexed since launching its invasion in February 2022, and seeing Ukraine formally abandon any attempts at joining NATO.
Peskov asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible,” adding, “This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy.”
Those words echo a Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs post on X from Friday, July 18, that said Putin had spoken with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and “confirmed Russia’s fundamental commitment to seeking a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict [in Ukraine].”
Ukraine opens the door to talks
Sandwiched between the ministry’s post and Peskov’s comments was Zelenskyy’s nightly address Saturday, during which he said Kyiv had extended an invitation to Moscow for a fresh wave of peace negotiations.
“[Russia] must stop hiding from decisions,” the Ukrainian president captioned the post. “Ceasefire. Prisoner exchanges. Return of children. End to the killings. And a meeting at the level of leaders is needed to truly ensure a lasting peace. Ukraine is ready.”
According to the Associated Press, the Kremlin has not agreed on a date to resume the talks, but said they would likely take place in Istanbul. Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in the city in early June for a round of direct talks. However, those negotiations ultimately collapsed.
Will the US be involved in negotiations?
It’s unclear what part the U.S. will play in any negotiations, should they take place.
Over the past few months, Trump’s relationship with Putin has grown increasingly strained, culminating in a U.S. threat to impose “very severe tariffs” on both Russia and countries that do business with it, if the war in Ukraine is not brought to an end within the next 50 days.
“I’m disappointed in President Putin because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn’t seem to be getting there,” Trump said earlier this week. “So based on that, we’re going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days.”
However, those threats were snubbed by the Kremlin, which called the ultimatum “unacceptable.”
