Russia says signal for start of direct peace talks should come from Ukraine

28/4/2025 19:17

Russia said on Monday it was waiting for a signal from Ukraine to say it was willing to hold direct negotiations to end their war, but had not seen any signs of movement.



The Kremlin said last Friday that the possibility of direct talks had been raised during a three-hour meeting between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. Moscow and Kyiv have not held direct negotiations since March 2022, soon after the start of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine. Later that year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy adopted a decree that ruled out negotiations with Putin, after Russia claimed four regions of Ukraine as its own. Zelenskiy, who met U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral, has said Kyiv would be ready to hold talks with Moscow once a ceasefire deal has stopped the fighting.