Russia says ready to ‘move quickly’ for Ukraine settlement

ISTANBUL

Russia is ready to “move quickly” for a settlement in Ukraine, but the “main thing” is to achieve the stated goals, the Kremlin said on Sunday.

“Russia is ready to move quickly (on the issue of the settlement in Ukraine),” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, an excerpt of which was shared on his Telegram account.

“The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear, obvious, they do not change,” Peskov said, adding that the peace process does not depend solely on Moscow.

Russia started its "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022 to "denazify" and "demilitarize" Ukraine.

According to its memorandum for the settlement of the conflict, Moscow has demanded a ban on Kyiv joining military alliances and withdrawal of Ukraine's troops from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, the regions it annexed after a referendum in September 2022, among others.

Ukraine has called the terms an "ultimatum" and has called for a ceasefire as a prerequisite for meaningful talks.

Speaking about a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump, Peskov said such a meeting will certainly happen “in time,” defining it as “necessary.”

He said it may also be necessary to formalize some major agreements “that will eventually be reached,” leading up to such talks.

“But that time has not yet come. That work still needs to be done,” Peskov added.

Trump, who has sought to end the conflict since starting his second term in January, has threatened 100% secondary tariffs on Moscow if a deal to end the war, now in its fourth year, is not reached within 50 days.

Meanwhile, two rounds of first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in three years took place in Istanbul in May and June, respectively.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Kyiv proposed a new round of talks for next week.

Commenting on Trump’s remarks, Peskov argued that everyone has already gotten used to "rather tough and straightforward rhetoric" from the US president.

“At the same time, he confirms his intentions to continue doing everything possible to facilitate a peaceful settlement. In fact, President Putin has repeatedly spoken about his desire to move the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful course as quickly as possible,” he added.

The spokesman described the issue to be “a long process” that “requires effort,” and is “not easy.”

“And, most likely, Washington is increasingly understanding this,” he said.