On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia is confident of victory in the Ukraine conflict and believes victory is “very near.”
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“We are sure that the victory is very near….Our combat operations are proceeding very successfully,” Peskov told a press briefing, noting that Russia hopes a path toward a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine conflict will be found sooner or later.
However, he said the Ukrainian authorities have demonstrated little flexibility, and that he does not believe Ukraine genuinely wants to end the war. “This war could have ended long ago.”
Peskov noted that U.S. representatives have shuttled between Moscow and Kiev in recent days, devoting substantial time and effort to relaying the positions of the two sides.
Russia expects progress on this front and hopes that trilateral talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. will resume. “Serious work is underway. We hope certain shifts will emerge in this regard,” the Kremlin spokesperson added.
Washington Considers Ukraine’s NATO Bid Closed: Lavrov
On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that U.S. President Donald Trump considers the issue of Ukraine joining NATO closed.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine’s accession to NATO will create threats to Russia and will not increase Ukraine’s own security. Putin also previously emphasised that this threat was one of the reasons for the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“Trump said, first, to forget even about trying to drag Ukraine into the North Atlantic Alliance. He said this was clear long before Putin’s statements. The issue is closed, and there is no need to try to stir it up,” Lavrov said on a TV program.
Russia is ready to continue talks with the United States about Ukraine, he said. “They acknowledge the basic things and try to be useful around them. I believe this deserves support.”
Lavrov added that Russia’s discussions with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow are based on Trump’s position of not bringing Ukraine into NATO and recognizing the realities on the ground.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: Xinhua
