“Russia open to negotiations on Ukraine, welcomes peace initiatives”: Kremlin spokesperson

After US President-elect Donald Trump called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Ukraine, the Kremlin said Russia is “open to negotiations” and welcomed peace initiatives particularly those initiated by Global South nations and BRICS partners.

Sharing a post on X on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Russia quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov and wrote, “We have carefully read the statement by US President-elect Donald Trump, made after his meeting with Macron and Zelensky in Paris. Russia is open to negotiations on Ukraine and welcomes peace initiatives. The conditions required to cease the hostilities were laid out by President Putin.”

Notably, Trump on December 7 met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris during the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was severely damaged in the devastating 2019 fire.

After the meeting, Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform, said, “There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed.”

The Kremlin statement further stressed that President Putin has repeatedly said Russia was open to negotiations on Ukraine and welcomed peace initiatives, “primarily those coming from countries of the Global South, as well as our BRICS partners, including China, Brazil, and South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, which are engaged in work on the humanitarian track.”

Peskov also highlighted Ukraine’s “rejection” of negotiations, accusing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of blocking dialogue with Moscow through a decree.

“Our stance on Ukraine is well known. The conditions required to cease the hostilities immediately were laid out by President Putin in June this year in his speech at Russia’s Foreign Ministry,” the statement said.

It added, “What bears reminding here is that it was Ukraine that rejected negotiations, and the country still rejects them. Moreover, Zelensky has, by his own decree, banned himself and his presidential office from making any engagements with the Russian leadership. This particular stance of theirs remains unchanged. Yet, all Zelensky has to do to enter a trajectory of peace is to revoke this decree and issue an order to resume dialogue on the basis of arrangements made in Istanbul and with account taken of the realities taking shape on the ground.”

Notably, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which began in 2014 with Russia’s annexation of Crimea, escalated into a full-scale war in February 2022 when Russia launched a large-scale military invasion of Ukraine.