"Mr. Zelensky has big problems de jure in terms of his legitimacy, but even so, the Russian side remains open to negotiations," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed.
The demand was allegedly raised during the first negotiations between Syrian officials and a Kremlin delegation following Assad's ouster in December. After his overthrow by rebels, Assad fled to Moscow, where he now resides.
Russia deployed troops to Syria in 2015 to support Assad regime's brutal crackdown against anti-government forces.
"The elections in Belarus were transparent and absolutely legitimate. Moscow does not take into account the expected criticism of the elections in Belarus in the West," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media.
"You know, with the reports in Western media, it is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps... to add fuel to the fire and continue to provoke further escalation of tensions," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the media.
A report had claimed Trump advised Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine.
"We have repeatedly said that the United States of America can help end the conflict in Ukraine. This, of course, cannot be done overnight," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
The denial comes a day after the Financial Times reported that Ukraine and Russia are resuming discussions about halting the strikes on each other's energy infrastructure after the talks abruptly ended in August following Ukraine's Kursk incursion.
"We see a lot of contradictory information," spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the Russian media, the state-controlled news agency Interfax reported.
The statement came two days after German Foreign Minister Annalenna Baerbock said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not willing to speak with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about brokering peace in Ukraine.
The cyberattack was carried out by Ukrainian hackers as a "congratulations" on Russian President Vladimir Putin's birthday, an undisclosed government source told Reuters and several Ukrainain media outlets.
President Volodymyr Zelensky's stance on "forcing" Russia to peace is a "fatal mistake" and will have "consequences for Ukraine," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Sept. 25, according to Russia's state-owned Ria Novosti outlet. Peskov's statement comes after Zelensky's speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, in
Peskov's comments came on the same day that the Russian federal telecommunications regulator, Roskomnadzor, deleted a published draft of its plans to deanonymize Russian Telegram channels.
Kremlin spokesperson's statement comes amid an ongoing Ukrainian incursion in Russia's Kursk Oblast, which started in early August.
Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that enhanced security measures would be instituted in the areas in question, including the suspension of public transport and the creation of military checkpoints. Only adult men with protective gear, accompanied by soldiers and local officials, will be able to enter, the governor said.
"Our country is in the crosshairs of American missiles located in Europe. We've been through all this before," he said in an interview with Russian TV propagandist Pavel Zarubin. "We have enough potential to deter these missiles. But the capitals of these states are potential victims."
Belousov was Russia's economy minister in 2012-2013, an aide to Putin in 2013-2020, and first deputy prime minister in 2020-2024.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later clarified his words, saying that "de jure" it remained a "military operation," but "de facto" had become a war.
Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash and Admiral Viktor Sokolov "are each allegedly responsible" for a number of war crimes, including "directing attacks at civilian objects," the ICC said.
"We do not consider such demands at all, especially from Mr. Borrell," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference, as cited by RIA Novosti.
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