Russia does not want Europe in the negotiations. Peskov: We want to achieve goals, not ceasefires
The participation of Europeans in peace negotiations regarding Ukraine does not bode well, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday, quoted by AFP. A meeting of top European politicians with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, took place in Berlin on Monday evening.
“The participation of Europeans in terms of acceptance (of the agreement by Moscow) does not bode well,” Peskov said. He added that the Russian side has not been officially informed about the results of the talks held in the German capital.
The Kremlin spokesman noted that Russia must first familiarize itself with what was agreed during the last negotiations between the U.S. and Ukrainian delegations before a new Russian-American meeting is organized.
Earlier on Tuesday, when asked by journalists about the Ukrainian side's proposal for a ceasefire over Christmas, Peskov replied that the real question “is whether, as President (Donald) Trump claims, we will reach an agreement or not.”
According to Peskov, Russia will probably not join such a ceasefire if Ukraine focuses on “short-term, unworkable solutions” rather than on a lasting agreement.
Vladimir Putin's spokesman then repeated his boss's traditional propaganda phrases: – We want peace. We do not want a truce that will give Ukraine a moment of respite and allow it to prepare for a continuation of the war. – We want to end this war, achieve our goals, secure our interests and guarantee peace in Europe for the future. That's what we want, Peskov told reporters.
The US and Europe have committed to cooperate on providing Ukraine with security guarantees in the event of an end to the war with Russia, European leaders announced on Monday at a summit in Berlin, after negotiations with the participation of US and Ukrainian delegations. The guarantees include, among others: a European-led, US-backed coalition of the willing military mission to help rebuild the Ukrainian army and maintain security.
Referring to talks on the terms of the agreement between Europe and the US, AFP reported, citing a European diplomat who wished to remain anonymous, that the European Union was trying to “separate the United States from Russian negotiating positions.”
“Economist”: Assessments of the peace negotiations in Berlin are too optimistic
After another round of negotiations on peace in Ukraine, which took place in Berlin, the weekly “Economist” writes on Tuesday that the assessments of these talks given by officials and leaders are too optimistic, and putting faith in US security guarantees for Kiev is hasty.
On Monday, a two-day round of negotiations ended, in which the Ukrainian delegation including President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner participated. The host of the talks was German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who after the meeting said that for the first time since the beginning of the war there was a chance for a truce in Ukraine.
The Economist notes that Witkoff and Kushner seem convinced that the Kremlin will accept peace guarantees for Ukraine, and trade agreements with Russia will become another link in these guarantees. One U.S. representative insisted in the talks that “there is no such thing as permanent allies or permanent enemies.”
Such statements can only “deepen suspicions: does Trump now feel less obliged to European allies and intends to hug Russia?” Especially since its representatives announced that the offer of a security guarantee “will not be on the table forever,” comments the British weekly.
“After reflection, the statements of the leaders in Berlin seem far too optimistic. Security guarantees depend on the unspecified deployment (of forces) of European countries that have too few available troops, probably under the leadership of America, whose willingness to defend Ukraine (…) is questionable,” says the Economist.
He further emphasizes that the US promises to provide security guarantees to Ukraine in line with Art. 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty mean less and less “in a world where America's attachment to NATO itself is ambivalent.”
Either way, the ball is now in the Russians' court – reminds the weekly. Some of his interlocutors believe that Vladimir Putin will agree to territorial concessions if he believes that it will break up Ukraine and separate the US from the rest of NATO.
However, former US ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder, quoted by the Economist, believes that “there is no chance that (Putin) will accept security guarantees or NATO's (presence) in Ukraine.”
He also estimates that the efforts of the American delegation conducting peace talks are “attempts to please Trump, not to obtain a real agreement.”
ISW: Russia will not accept any solution that does not guarantee its control over Ukraine
Russia will not accept any peace agreement or security guarantees that do not guarantee its full control over Ukraine in the medium or long term, said the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The Kremlin continues to make clear that it will reject any peace agreement that provides credible security guarantees for Ukraine, and it is unlikely that Russia will accept an agreement that includes any provisions securing Ukrainian territorial integrity, ISW wrote in its latest report.
Analysts emphasized that Russia had already tried to obtain unrealistic territorial concessions from Ukraine, including a fortified defense line in the Donetsk Oblast, which has been the core of Ukraine's defense since 2014.
Ukraine handing over its main defense line to Russia would provide the Russians with more favorable positions to resume aggression against southwestern and central Ukraine in the future, experts noted.
According to the ISW, Russia will continue to use political and military resources to achieve its goal of occupying all of Ukraine. Therefore, it is unlikely that Russia will accept a peace agreement or security guarantees that do not ensure full Russian control over Ukraine in the medium or long term, the report says.
Natalia Dziurdzińska from Washington
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