Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Friday that Russia will not negotiate with U.S. President Joe Biden if he continues to link dialogue to Russian withdrawal from Ukraine.
Thus he has referred to the words of the tenant of the White House, that although he has advocated to open a process of negotiations that would put an end to the war, he has insisted that for this Russia «has to leave Ukraine».
«Biden thinks that this would be the key demonstration that (Vladimir) Putin is willing to negotiate», he asserted before clarifying that, «of course, the military operation continues».
However, he affirmed that Putin «is generally willing to talk» and insisted that «of course, the most preferable way to achieve our interests is through diplomatic and peaceful means».
In this sense, he pointed out that «the United States still does not recognize the new territories that are part of Russia, something that significantly complicates the search for a possible scenario for discussion».
In addition, he asserted that it was Putin who «tried to negotiate on the security guarantee with the United States and NATO» and recalled that «this initiative was not received with reciprocity». «The Russian president has always remained open to negotiations to ensure our interests and achieve our goals.»
On Thursday, Biden indicated that he was willing to talk with Putin about the possibility of ending hostilities, although he ruled out contacts in the near future on the grounds that Moscow must first take certain steps, such as withdrawing its troops from Ukrainian territory.
