Russia Says Open To Ukraine Talks, However Will not Give Up Annexed Areas

Ukraine says Russian troops should go away its territory earlier than any peace plan. (File)

Moscow:

The Kremlin on Tuesday repeated its place that Russia was open to negotiations to finish the Ukraine battle, however that new “territorial realities” couldn’t be ignored.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed reporters Russia would by no means resign its claims to 4 Ukrainian areas that Moscow declared it had annexed final 12 months following referendums that Kyiv and the West slammed as bogus and unlawful.

“There are particular realities which have already grow to be an inside issue. I imply the brand new territories. The structure of the Russian Federation exists, and can’t be ignored. Russia won’t ever be capable to compromise on this, these are essential realities,” Peskov stated on Tuesday.

Russia proclaimed it had annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia areas final September in a grand ceremony in Moscow.

The areas have been subsequently named as constituent topics of the Russian Federation in a constitutional decree.

Peskov stated Russia was open to negotiations if Kyiv accepted Moscow’s management over the areas.

“With a beneficial state of affairs and the suitable angle from the Ukrainians, this may be resolved on the negotiating desk. However the principle factor is to realize our targets,” he stated.

Russian forces don’t totally management any of the 4 areas, and Moscow says it’s combating to “liberate” them from the management of Ukrainian neo-Nazis.

Kyiv and the West say this can be a baseless pretext for an unlawful land-grab.

Ukraine says Russian troops should go away each inch of its territory together with the 4 annexed areas and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow unilaterally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, earlier than a peace plan will be mentioned.

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