Russia calls for Ukraine peace talks to resume after months of downplaying them
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U.S.-mediated peace talks to end Russia's war against Ukraine are currently on pause, but Moscow hopes the process will resume, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on May 18.
The statement marks a shift in Moscow's rhetoric, following Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's April 18 statement that negotiations with Ukraine were not Russia's top priority.
"We expect that (the peace process) will be resumed after all. And we expect our American colleagues to continue their peacemaking and mediation efforts in this regard," Peskov said.
The change in tone comes as Ukraine is increasingly seen as regaining the initiative both on the battlefield and in long-range strikes deep inside Russian territory.
The latest trilateral talks involving Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. took place on Feb. 16. A follow-up meeting initially planned for late February and later postponed to early March was canceled shortly before U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran shifted Washington's focus toward the Middle East.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly urged both Washington and Moscow to restart negotiations, saying he does not believe the peace process has reached a dead end.
"We're much stronger today than we've been over the past six months," Zelensky said in March.
The Ukrainian president also said on May 8 that Kyiv expects U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys to visit later this spring or early summer in an effort to revive talks.
Major disagreements continue to block progress, particularly over Russia's territorial demands.
Ukraine maintains that freezing the current front line is the most realistic basis for a ceasefire. Russia, meanwhile, continues to insist that Ukrainian forces withdraw from parts of Donbas as a precondition for any settlement — a demand Kyiv has rejected.
