Moscow has thanked Qatar and a number of other countries that have expressed readiness to host the contacts for the peaceful settlement of the crisis in Ukraine. Nevertheless, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the preconditions for negotiations have not yet been met.
In an interview with Izvestia published Wednesday, Peskov said, “There are no grounds for negotiations yet,” which has been the standard Russian line now. He recognized the goodwill of a number of countries including Qatar, which recently mediated in the return of children taken during the war that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The latest humanitarian exchange, involving nine Russian and Ukrainian children, was announced late last month. Qatar emphasized its role as mediator in these efforts within its wider commitment to conflict resolution by peaceful means and adherence to international law.
Peskov praised Qatar’s constructive mediation on a number of issues and pointed to the developing relations between the two countries. His comments came after Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament, said that attempts to start peace talks with Ukraine could take place next year.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently expressed a desire for an early end to the conflict, suggesting that Ukraine could reclaim occupied territories through diplomacy if its NATO membership is assured. This represents a shift from his earlier position, which tied the conclusion of the war to the return of seized Ukrainian land.
Russian forces now control about 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory, and in recent weeks have advanced more quickly than at any time since the war’s early months. It is also a test for the West after the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, Ukraine’s most important ally in the war. Trump has signaled that he wants the war to end, which many believe would necessitate unfavorable compromises from Kyiv.
The Kremlin has insisted all along it won’t hold negotiations with Zelenskyy unless Ukraine abandons its ambitions for NATO and pulls troops from the regions that lie outside of their current positions taken over by Russian forces. To date, Ukraine has had an unyielding answer: without at least joining NATO, no talks can bring Ukraine guarantees about its security.
With the Biden administration readying to leave office, it has tried to strengthen Ukraine’s military arsenal by allowing Kyiv to strike deep into Russian-held territories using U.S.-made long-range missiles. On Monday, the U.S. approved an additional military aid package worth $725 million to Kyiv.
In a related move, Trump appointed retired General Keith Kellogg as his special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine war. Earlier this year, Kellogg co-authored a strategy paper urging a delay in Ukraine’s membership in NATO in exchange for a peace deal with security guarantees.
