 "Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual televised year-end press conference and phone-in held in Moscow, Russia, on December 19, 2024. Reuters File")
The Kremlin said on Monday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy needed to be pressured into pursuing peace after a confrontation with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office highlighted the challenges of resolving the conflict.
“What happened at the White House on Friday, of course, demonstrated how difficult it will be to reach a settlement trajectory around Ukraine,” Reuters quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.
“The Kyiv regime and Zelenskyy do not want peace. They want the war to continue,” he added.
Peskov said that it is very important that someone forces Zelenskyy to change his position.
“Someone has to make Zelenskyy want peace. If the Europeans can do it, they should be honoured and praised,” Peskov was quoted as saying.
In 2022, President Vladimir Putin deployed tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine, igniting the most significant clash between Russia and the West since the height of the Cold War.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine started in 2014 when a pro-Russian president was ousted during Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution, leading to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the rise of Russian-backed separatist forces battling Ukraine’s military.
According to Peskov, President Putin was aware of the “unprecedented event” that took place in the Oval Office, which he claimed highlighted Zelenskyy’s apparent lack of diplomatic skills, at the very least.
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With inputs from agencies