MOSCOW, November 7. /TASS/. The Kremlin does not know whether reports about Washington’s requests to Kiev to show openness to negotiations with Moscow are true, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
"Well, we don't know whether this is the case or not. Once again, I repeat that there are some truthful reports, but most of all reports are absolute speculation. So we are not in a position to comment on this without being sure that it really corresponds to reality," the Kremlin spokesman said when asked if he was aware of private calls by the administration of US President Joe Biden for Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to demonstrate openness to negotiations with Russia.
Earlier, the Washington Post reported on such demands, citing its sources. According to them, these demands are not aimed at pushing Ukraine to the negotiating table, but at "ensuring it maintains a moral high ground in the eyes of its international backers". According to the newspaper, US officials believe that Zelensky is likely to agree to negotiations and eventually make concessions. They believe that "Kiev is attempting to lock in as many military gains as it can before winter sets in, when there might be a window for diplomacy."
The White House and the State Department have not yet responded to a TASS correspondent's request to confirm the information.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Russian leadership was still ready to hold talks on Ukraine. He said that Russia was ready to listen to its Western colleagues if they offered to organize a conversation on de-escalation of tensions, taking into account Moscow's interests. Also, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that talks on Ukraine should be held primarily with Washington, as Kiev was acting "under external orders".
·On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation in Ukraine following a request for assistance from the leaders of the Donbass republics. After that, the US, the EU, the UK, as well as a number of other countries imposed sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities. In addition, Western countries began to supply arms and military equipment to Kiev worth billions of dollars at this stage.