Putin states peace talks with Ukraine are unlikely due to drone attacks

Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated that an immediate resumption of peace talks with Ukraine is unlikely, citing drone attacks on Moscow during parliamentary elections last month. In a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Friday, Putin mentioned that Moscow was prepared to resume negotiations with Kyiv after the elections. However, the drone attacks on the capital have made the resumption of trilateral peace talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the US unlikely. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov stated, “By launching a large-scale drone attack on Moscow, other cities and polling stations on the most important day of the elections, and by targeting some people involved in organising the elections, the Kyiv regime has, in reality, interrupted the possibility of an immediate resumption of the negotiation process.” Ushakov added that they would assess when these negotiations could resume. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio remarked on Thursday that Russia’s war in Ukraine is at a dangerous stalemate, and the United States will continue to work towards a deal to end the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed earlier this week that Ukraine was ready to hold trilateral talks with the United States and Russia this month. Following the call with Putin, Donald Trump announced that Russia agreed to deliver more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel to American and global markets. This deal faced criticism from US lawmakers, Zelenskyy, and European allies, with Zelenskyy describing the agreement as a “gift to Putin.” He stated, “All that money goes toward the war against people, against Ukraine, against all of us. I believe our team is simply being used as a smokescreen. And that is certainly not fair.” In response to the US-Russia diesel deal, a government spokesperson noted that the United Kingdom would continue to “maintain pressure on Russia through the toughest sanctions regime ever imposed by the UK.”