‘Spirit’ of Trump-Putin summit is still alive – Kremlin
The “impulse” to reach a negotiated settlement of the Ukraine conflict generated at the Russia-US summit in Alaska is still alive, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, stressing that Moscow remains open to a peace deal.
His comments come after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov claimed earlier this week that the momentum created by the meeting of President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Anchorage in August had been “exhausted” due to Kiev and its Western European backers who advocate for a “war to the last Ukrainian.”
Speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Friday, Peskov stressed that the “impulse” and “spirit” of the Anchorage summit “are alive” and expressed hope that Trump “maintains the political will for a peaceful settlement.”
Peskov said the Kremlin remains optimistic “in the spirit of Anchorage” but has described “not very good developments” in Kiev’s behavior. He linked this to the influence of Ukraine’s Western European backers, whose positions are “hard to explain, frenzied, and militaristic.”
He stated that the Istanbul talks with Kiev have been put on “on pause” because the Ukrainian side has not replied to any of Russia’s proposals.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations have met several times for talks this year. After the latest round in Istanbul in July, the two sides agreed to set up working groups to develop a settlement plan addressing political, military, and humanitarian issues. Peskov has said nothing is moving forward because Kiev has not answered the proposals or replied to the draft document submitted by Moscow.
Peskov reiterated that Moscow remains open to a peaceful settlement but stated that Kiev appears not to realize that its negotiating position is “deteriorating with each passing day.”
