Putin’s spokesman says Moscow will ‘continue’ invasion whereas blaming Ukraine for not being ‘ready’ for peace | EUROtoday

A Kremlin spokesman stated in a brand new interview that Ukraine is in charge for a failure to make progress in peace talks and vowed that the Russian offensive would “continue” – regardless of Kyiv’s help for a U.S.-backed deal.

With their respective nations nonetheless but to succeed in a proper ceasefire, Ukraine and Russia’s ambassadors appeared for dueling interviews Sunday on ABC News.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Vladimir Putin, spoke to ABC’s Martha Raddatz in Moscow.

“Ukraine is trying to escape from negotiations,” he claimed.

Raddatz interjected: “Ukraine says they’re ready for a ceasefire right now, a 30 days ceasefire.”

“But they’re not ready for immediate negotiations,” Peskov stated. “President Putin is doing whatever is possible to solve the problem, to achieve a settlement through peaceful and diplomatic means. But having no peaceful and democratic means at hand, we have to continue military operation.”

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He would go on to say that U.S. and European weapon shipments to Kyiv would have to be halted for these talks to happen.

“Otherwise, it will be advantage for Ukraine. Ukraine will continue their total mobilization, bringing new troops to front line. Ukraine will use this period to train new military personnel and to give a rest to their existing ones,” stated Peskov. “So why should we grant such an advantage to Ukraine?”

Ukraine is “not ready for immediate negotiations,” he insisted.

Separately on ABC News, Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova sat down in-studio for an interview with Raddatz. She shot down Peskov’s assertion that Ukraine was refusing the potential of talks starting without delay.

“President Zelensky today already said that, yes, Ukraine is ready to negotiate,” Markarova stated. Ukraine has set a brief ceasefire as a situation for talks to happen. Russia, in the meantime, stated that it could not settle for the presence of European peacekeeping forces.

“We have heard loud and clear from President Trump that ceasefires should be full and unconditional. And we have heard from other European leaders,” she continued. “Nobody wants peace more than Ukraine. The question of the day is whether Russia wants it.”

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President Donald Trump spent a lot of 2024 hammering his two opponents, Joe Biden and later Kamala Harris, for the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts, which he says began below their watch. The forty seventh president claimed typically that Putin wouldn’t have dared to launch an invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had he been in workplace, and boasted as nicely that he may finish the jap European battle in a matter of hours.

Those hours have stretched into weeks as Trump has come to publicly grumble that Russia could also be stringing his administration alongside within the hopes of securing a extra advantageous place on the battlefield. The U.S. president has threatened damaging sanctions in opposition to Moscow if the battle continues, however has but to behave on these threats.

After an Oval Office blow-up between the 2 males earlier this 12 months, Trump met Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral within the Vatican in late April. Soon after the assembly, he posted his suspicions of Russia’s goals on Truth Social.

“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump wrote. “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along.”

On Sunday, Trump condemned the “bloodbath” in one other Truth Social posting and urged Zelensky to simply accept an invite for talks in Turkey with Putin scheduled for this coming Thursday. Zelensky, together with a coalition of NATO leaders, introduced the U.S. with a pledge on Saturday stating that Ukraine would settle for a right away short-term ceasefire and to start talks with Russia. Putin, in his response, accepted an invite to barter whereas refusing to comply with a right away ceasefire.

“President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social submit. At least they’ll have the ability to decide whether or not or not a deal is feasible, and if it’s not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know the place all the pieces stands, and might proceed accordingly!”

“I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America,” he continued. “HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!”

Zelensky accepted, responding in his personal submit to Twitter.

“We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy,” he stated. “There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses.”