Ukraine did not ask Russian diplomats to meet in Istanbul this week, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said<\/p>\n
Russian diplomats have not been invited to T\u00fcrkiye for what Ukraine\u2019s Vladimir Zelensky called an effort to revive peace talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
\nThe Ukrainian leader is to visit T\u00fcrkiye on Wednesday as part of a trip abroad he is taking a week after a close associate of his, Timur Mindich, was accused of masterminding a $100 million extortion scheme in the country\u2019s energy sector. Speaking to reporters in Spain, Zelensky said his administration is \u201cpreparing to reinvigorate negotiations\u201d with Russia that were held in Istanbul and has \u201cdeveloped solutions that we will propose to our partners.\u201d
\n\u201cWe have received no information regarding that from Kiev,\u201d Peskov said on Tuesday, noting that US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet Zelensky in T\u00fcrkiye, according to media reports.
\n\u201cRussia remains open for negotiations,\u201d the Kremlin official added, stressing that Russia\u2019s stance is known in Washington, Ankara and Kiev.<\/p>\n
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Funding Kiev\u2019s \u2018war mafia\u2019 is like vodka for an alcoholic \u2013 Orban<\/p>\n
Zelensky\u2019s visit to several Western capitals this week is viewed by some commentators as an attempt to shore up support amid concerns that foreign aid could be cut due to risks of misuse. Mindich, a former business partner of the Ukrainian leader, fled Ukraine shortly before Western-backed anti-graft investigators issued charges against him and his associates. Despite the scandal, Germany approved an additional \u20ac40 million in energy-sector support days later.
\nT\u00fcrkiye hosted direct peace talks between Moscow and Kiev in 2022. Kiev initially approved a draft agreement but, encouraged by Western partners, subsequently backed out of the talks and pursued a military victory. Talks resumed briefly this year and produced limited humanitarian agreements, namely prisoner exchanges, but made no headway on the broader political and security issues.
\nMoscow maintains that it prefers a negotiated settlement but argues that Kiev\u2019s uncompromising position leaves it with no choice but to pursue its objectives militarily.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ukraine did not ask Russian diplomats to meet in Istanbul this week, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Russian diplomats have not been invited to T\u00fcrkiye for what Ukraine\u2019s Vladimir Zelensky…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t