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The Russian presidency will only negotiate a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine if it is on its terms, a Kremlin spokesman assured on Wednesday, reacting to claims by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder that Moscow wants talks.
Russia is ready for a negotiated solution on its own terms,” Dmitry Peskov said during a daily press conference.
A Kremlin spokesman responded to a question about recent statements by former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder, a man believed to be close to the Russian president, who said after a visit to Moscow that Russia wanted a “negotiated solution” to the conflict in Ukraine. .
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“The good news is that the Kremlin wants to find a negotiated solution,” Schroeder said in an interview with Stern weekly, in which he confirmed he had met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week.
According to Peskov, Moscow’s conditions to end the military campaign on the territory of Ukraine “well known”.
These terms were agreed in Istanbul by negotiators from both sides,” the Kremlin spokesman said, referring to the last meeting in March between representatives of Russia and Ukraine.
“After that, the Ukrainian side already rejected what was agreed and refused to negotiate,” the representative accused.
When asked if Schroeder could mediate between Russia and Ukraine in new negotiations, Peskov assured that the German politician did not express such a desire.
Schröder has come under fire from his political family, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), because of his past and present ties to Putin, which the former chancellor claims he has no reason to cut.
Due to the pressure caused by the war in Ukraine, Schroeder announced his resignation of a seat on the board of directors Russian consortium Gazprom, to which he was appointed and where he was due to take office in June. He also left the post of chairman of the board of directors of the Russian oil company Rosneft, which he held since 2017.
Former German chancellor Schroeder leaves Russian oil company
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine has already caused flight of almost 17 million people from their homes, more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 10 million displaced in neighboring countries, according to the latest UN figures, which rank this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion, justified by Putin as the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security, has been condemned by a broad section of the international community, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing sanctions against Russia that affect almost all areas. , from banking to energy and sports.
UN accounts over 5,300 civilians diedemphasizing that the real figures should be much higher, but they will become known only when there is access to the occupied territories or in the face of fierce fighting.