‘As soon as we are ready, we will make an announcement regarding the timing,’ says spokesman
The Kremlin on Tuesday said that Moscow hopes the next round of renewed Russia-Ukraine peace talks will take place this week.
“We hope that the talks will take place this week. As soon as we are ready, we will make an announcement regarding the timing,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a press briefing.
Expressing that the Russian side does not expect "breakthroughs of the miraculous kind" at the talks, Peskov argued a settlement in Ukraine is “so complex” that the deals reached on the exchange of prisoners are “already an outcome.”
Peskov further reminded that Kyiv has yet to lift a ban from 2022, ruling out negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He also described the topic of the negotiations to be “quite complex,” noting that, in addition to other issues, discussions on the draft memoranda exchanged during the second round of talks last month will be necessary.
“I would not assess the potential timeframes (for reaching a settlement in Ukraine) at all. It depends on many factors, and any forecasts now would be wrong,” Peskov added.
Peskov’s remarks came after Zelenskyy announced during a video address Monday evening that a new round of peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow will be held in Türkiye on Wednesday.
So far, two rounds of renewed direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have been held in Istanbul -- on May 16 and June 2.
In the latest talks, both sides agreed to exchange additional prisoners of war -- prioritizing the youngest and most severely wounded -- and to return the bodies of 6,000 soldiers from each side.
