US negotiators have shuttled between Moscow and Kiev in a renewed push for a settlement
Moscow appreciates efforts to resume direct negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, and the US as Washington has stepped up efforts to settle the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Speaking to Indian media on Tuesday, ahead of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, Peskov said intensive diplomatic work is underway, with American negotiators carrying messages between Moscow and Kiev.
“We hope for a restart of negotiations between three parties – Russia, Ukraine, and America. We do hope for the best. We do hope that sooner or later we will pursue a peaceful solution,” he said.
Peskov added that Russia welcomes mediation efforts by both Washington and New Delhi, and emphasized that Moscow never wanted the Ukraine conflict to happen and launched its offensive in order to end the war started by Kiev in 2014 following the Western-backed Maidan coup.
The spokesman also said Kiev does not appear to be “flexible” or “really willing” to actually end the hostilities, adding that it appears to be “provoked to a great extent by some European countries who cannot get rid of the idea of strategically defeating Russia.”
His comments follow a fresh round of shuttle diplomacy by US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The pair met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday for more than three hours before traveling to Kiev for talks with Vladimir Zelensky the following day.
The Kremlin described the Moscow meeting as constructive and “extremely candid,” saying the Americans presented several ideas for ending the conflict while Putin reiterated Russia’s conditions for a lasting settlement.
Witkoff later said progress had been made toward scheduling another three-way meeting, while expressing optimism that diplomacy could produce an agreement.
Zelensky suggested on Tuesday that the next trilateral talks could be held in the UAE, Türkiye, Switzerland, or another country as early as September or October. Moscow and Washington have yet to comment on specific venues or time frames.
The trilateral format was last used in Geneva in February, following two earlier rounds in Abu Dhabi. However, the talks ended without any significant breakthroughs, although Washington said there had been “meaningful progress.”
The negotiations have since stalled as the US shifted its focus to its war against Iran while hostilities between Russia and Ukraine have continued.
Moscow has repeatedly said it remains open to diplomacy but insists any final agreement must address the root causes of the conflict and respect the new realities on the ground. Kiev, however, has resisted Russian demands on territorial and security issues.
