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Kremlin: Moscow-Kiev relations far from improving despite positive signs between leaders

The Kremlin considers remarks by Zelensky that the USSR was involved in unleashing WWII erroneous
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov  Mikhail Metzel/TASS
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov
© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, January 28. /TASS/. Relations between Moscow and Kiev are far from improving despite some positive signs between the two countries’ leaders, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"I wouldn't talk about relations between the two countries at the moment," he said when asked if the Ukrainian president’s statement about the Soviet Union’s alleged role in starting World War II would affect bilateral relations. "As you know, despite a small positive trend between the two heads of state, relations are far from finding a sustainable path for improvement," Peskov pointed out.

The Kremlin considers remarks by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky that the USSR was involved in unleashing WWII erroneous and insulting to the memories of millions of people, including Ukrainians.

"We strongly disagree with that statement. In that statement, the Ukrainian president expressed solidarity with the viewpoint of the Polish leadership, which is extremely erroneous, in our view, the viewpoint, which is insulting for tens of millions of Russians and CIS citizens whose parents, grandfathers, relatives lost their lives liberating Europe, including Poland, from Nazism," Peskov said.

He was confident that Zelensky’s stance was "hardly congruous with the faith and convictions of millions of Ukrainians who likewise fought against the Nazis." That’s why we consider that statement unacceptable. We consider it erroneous and insulting from the viewpoint of the memories of our grandfathers," the Kremlin spokesman stressed.

During his visit to Poland, Zelensky accused the Soviet Union of unleashing World War Two on a par with Nazi Germany. According to the Ukrainian president, Poland and the Polish people were the first to feel "the collusion of the totalitarian regimes," which led to the outbreak of the war.