Ukraine withdrew from talks with Russia on US’s “orders” : Kremlin

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine left the peace negotiations with Moscow in March on “order” from the US, the Kremlin reported on 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 spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Mr 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 Mr Putin, whom he had visited earlier, had “expressed the idea that he is ready for negotiations” with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Asked about these statements, Mr 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.