Ukraine withdrew from talks with Moscow on US 'order': Kremlin

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that Ukraine pulled out of peace talks with Moscow in March on an “order” from the United States, the Kremlin said Thursday.

“The text was ready… And then suddenly the Ukrainian side went off the radar, the Ukrainian side declared its unwillingness to continue negotiations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Putin considered it “obvious” that the decision to stop talks “occurred on an order from Washington”.

On Wednesday, Guinea-Bissau’s Umaro Sissoco Embalo, the current chief of the ECOWAS west African bloc, said in Kyiv that Putin, whom he had visited earlier, had “expressed the idea that he is ready for negotiations” with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Asked about these remarks, Peskov said “we are ready to ensure our interests at the negotiating table”.

“We want this, but in this case, we are talking about a complete unwillingness on the part of Ukraine,” he said, adding that there was “no specific message” for Kyiv.

Zelensky on Wednesday had quickly dismissed any possibility of talks with Moscow, denouncing Putin’s “planned rhetoric”.

In late September, Ukraine’s leader said he would not negotiate with Russia as long as Putin was president.

Talks between Kyiv and Moscow have stalled since March, with both sides blaming the other for the stalemate.