MOSCOW, March 2 (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Monday that it was in Russia’s own interests to continue peace talks with Ukraine and that Moscow’s preference was still to reach a diplomatic settlement to end the fighting.
Peace talks have appeared deadlocked in recent weeks over Russia’s insistence that Ukraine hand over the remaining part of its eastern Donbas region which Moscow does not control, an idea Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly rejected.
Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter, that Russian officials increasingly saw little reason to continue the U.S.-led talks unless Kyiv signalled it was prepared to give up territory.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia remained committed to the talks however and that its approach was unchanged.
“We have our own interests that we must protect, and it is in our interests to continue these negotiations. We certainly remain open to these negotiations,” said Peskov, saying “a political and diplomatic resolution” was Moscow’s preferred way of ending the fighting.
Asked whether U.S. strikes on Iran would affect the peace process for Ukraine, Peskov said that Russia continued to value U.S. mediation efforts, but said Moscow only trusted itself “first and foremost” and would be guided by its own interests.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Felix Light/Lucy PapachristouEditing by Andrew Osborn)
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