All news

Russia would welcome G7’s call on Kiev to resolve conflict through negotiations — Kremlin

The conflict in Donbass can be settled only through peaceful means by establishing direct contacts between official Kiev and representatives of the self-proclaimed republics, Dmitry Peskov reiterated

MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. Russia would welcome a balanced position by the G7 Group of developed countries on Ukraine and for them to call on Kiev to honor the Minsk agreements and resolve the intra-Ukrainian conflict through direct negotiations, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

The Russian presidential spokesman was commenting on a statement by the G7, which called on Moscow for de-escalation around Ukraine, warning that a hypothetical invasion into the neighboring country would entail serious consequences.

"As for new threats addressed to Russia, warnings or threats, the position is perfectly clear to us and it should not be repeated dozens of times," Peskov pointed out.

"The only thing is that we would certainly want this position to be balanced. Since we are talking about the need for de-escalation in Ukraine, we want to see some calls on Kiev so that Kiev halts provocative actions at the disengagement line but, unfortunately, we see no messages addressed to Kiev," the Kremlin spokesman said.

"We would welcome even to a greater extent a call on Kiev to comply with the commitments it has undertaken under the Minsk Accords. We would welcome even to a greater extent a call addressed to Kiev that a peaceful settlement of this intra-Ukrainian problem holds no alternative and can be achieved only by way of establishing a direct dialogue between Kiev and representatives of the self-proclaimed republics," Peskov emphasized.

"Unfortunately, we do not see such statements," the Kremlin spokesman added.

As the Russian president’s press secretary emphasized, Russia is not a party to the conflict in Donbass, which is an intra-Ukrainian problem.

"It can be settled only through peaceful means by establishing direct contacts between official Kiev and representatives of the self-proclaimed republics," he said.

Western countries and the Kiev regime have been spreading allegations lately about Russia’s potential invasion into Ukraine. The Kremlin spokesman castigated these speculations as an "empty and groundless" escalation of tension. He did not rule out the probability of provocations to justify such allegations and warned that attempts to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine through military means would have serious consequences.

The Russian presidential spokesman also assured that Moscow was making all efforts to help Kiev settle the Donbass conflict, while remaining committed to the Normandy format and the Minsk Agreements.