Russia remains open to peace with Ukraine, although meeting its objectives is still a priority, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Sunday, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration of a 50-day deadline for Moscow to agree to a ceasefire or face increased sanctions.
Peskov and other Russian authorities have consistently denied accusations from Kyiv and its Western allies of delaying peace negotiations. At the same time, Moscow continues to intensify its long-range assaults on Ukrainian cities, deploying more drones in a single night than it did throughout entire months in 2024, with analysts predicting the attacks will likely escalate.
“President Putin has frequently expressed his wish to resolve the Ukrainian issue peacefully and as quickly as possible. This is a protracted process, requiring effort, and it is not simple,” Peskov told state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin.
“The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear,” he added.
The Kremlin has insisted that any peace deal should see Ukraine withdraw from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully captured. It also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its armed forces — demands Kyiv and its Western allies have rejected.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Russia on July 14 with steep tariffs and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance toward Moscow after months of frustration following unsuccessful negotiations aimed at ending the war. The direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul resulted in several rounds of prisoner exchanges but little else.
Trump said he would implement “severe tariffs” unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. He provided few details on how they would be implemented, but suggested they would target Russia’s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy.
In addition, Trump said European allies would buy “billions and billions” of dollars of U.S. military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country’s supplies of weapons. Included in the plan are Patriot air defense systems, a top priority for Ukraine as it fends off Russian drones and missiles.
Doubts were recently raised about Trump’s commitment to supply Ukraine when the Pentagon paused shipments over concerns that U.S. stockpiles were running low.
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