A spokesman for the Russian government said on Monday that the Kremlin sees little progress in peace negotiations with Ukraine, Newsweek reported.
"Regrettably, we cannot say there have been any significant achievements or breakthroughs so far" in peace negotiations with Ukraine, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS.
The statement by Peskov to Russia's state-owned network comes even after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy floated the possibility of autonomy or independence for the separatist Donbas region.
"We cannot and will not speculate about progress for the time being, but the very decision to go ahead with face-to-face talks is important, of course," Peskov said, speaking of in-person talks that are set to take place soon in Istanbul, Turkey next week.
Zelenskyy had suggested a day before that Russian President Vladimir Putin order his forces back into the separatist Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics in the Donbas so talks could begin on the future of the region.
"I understand that it is impossible to force Russia to completely liberate the territory. It will lead to World War III," Zelenskyy told Russian independent media through Zoom. "I understand everything perfectly and am aware of [this]. That's why I say: It's a compromise. Return to where it all began, and there we will try to solve the issue of Donbas, the complex issue of Donbas."
Zelenskyy also floated the possibility of Ukraine declaring neutral status via referendum in exchange for Russian troop withdrawal over the weekend.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.