Why Putin refuses peace talks: Ukraine's presidential office explains
Photo: Sergiy Kyslytsya, First Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine (Getty Images)
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin is not interested in peace talks. He believes that Ukrainians will not survive the next winter, Sergiy Kyslytsya, First Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said.
Putin does not want negotiations
Kyslytsya explained the logic behind the Russian leader’s approach to negotiations.
"Putin now has no desire to sit down at the negotiating table, and after the start of winter and until its end, that is, until mid-March, he will have even less motivation," the official said.
Putin will believe that Ukrainians are not strong enough as a nation to survive this winter, Kyslytsya said.
At the same time, he added that Ukraine continues to consider diplomatic ways to end the war.
"Diplomacy must work under any circumstances because our opponents and enemies are trying to impose the idea in various world capitals that it is Ukrainians who do not want to end the war and are seeking escalation," Kyslytsya said.
Ukraine continues to tell its partners that it is ready to sit down at the negotiating table, to listen to the American side, to talk to the Russians and to present its arguments as to why this war must end.
Peace talks details
The official also stressed the importance of a visit to Kyiv by negotiators from US President Donald Trump’s administration, which has already been postponed several times.
"I believe that the past two and a half months have been very active because the president has had very productive discussions — both remotely and in person — with the President of the United States," Kyslytsya said.
In his view, "the atmosphere and level of mutual understanding between Ukraine and the United States, at least as it formally appeared, were unprecedented between June and August."
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that the Kremlin once again confirmed that it does not plan any "freeze" of the war against Ukraine. Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov made the statement.
In addition, Russia will never agree to a "freeze" of hostilities in Ukraine without eliminating the "root causes" of the war. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin made the statement.
It was also reported that despite significant progress in the peace talks, Ukraine and Russia failed to reach a compromise on key contentious issues, according to Kyslytsya.
