Kremlin on Ukraine peace talks: Do not expect miracles
MOSCOW - The Kremlin said on Tuesday that there was no basis to expect miracles from a proposed third round of direct Russian-Ukrainian peace talks, and declined to give any time frame for a potential agreement to end the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Kyiv has sent Moscow an offer to hold another round of peace talks in Turkey this week, and that he wants to speed up negotiations for a ceasefire.
"There is no reason to expect any breakthroughs in the category of miracles - it is hardly possible in the current situation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"We intend to pursue our interests, we intend to ensure our interests and fulfil the tasks that we set for ourselves from the very beginning."
Asked if he could give a sense of how the Kremlin saw the potential time frame of a possible peace agreement, Peskov said he could give no guidance on timing.
"There is a lot of work to be done before we can talk about the possibility of some top-level meetings," Peskov added, a day after Zelenskiy renewed a call for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
29 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump administration formally scraps Musk's ‘five things' e-mail
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox US President Donald Trump (left) has threatened to cancel billions of dollars worth of federal contracts with Mr Elon Musk's companies after the blow-up between them. – The Trump administration on Aug 5 formally axed a programme launched by billionaire Elon Musk, a former adviser to US President Donald Trump, requiring federal employees to summarise their five workplace achievements from the prior week, Reuters first reported. The US Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the federal human resources agency that implemented Mr Musk's push to slash the federal workforce, announced the end of the 'five things' e-mail through a memo that rescinds guidance instructing workers to comply with the initiative. 'At OPM, we believe that managers are accountable to staying informed about what their team members are working on and have many other existing tools to do so,' OPM director Scott Kupor said in a statement. He added that the agency told government human resources representatives that OPM would no longer manage the process nor use it internally. While many federal agencies had already phased out compliance with the weekly e-mail, the move signals the Trump administration turning the page on one of Mr Musk's most unpopular initiatives following a falling out between the two in early June. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Mr Musk, who spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help Mr Trump win November's presidential election, led the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to slash the budget and cut the federal workforce until his departure in May to refocus on his tech empire. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Hidden vapes and where to find them: Inside ICA's clampdown at land checkpoints Singapore East-West Line MRT service resumes after delays lasting around 5 hours; track point fault fixed Asia Asean's quiet diplomacy helped avert escalation in Cambodia-Thailand border conflict: Sec-Gen Kao Opinion Internships open doors but only if students can first find the key World Meta says it's working to thwart WhatsApp scammers Singapore Jail for 2 friends who swopped seats in car to try and evade justice after drinking alcohol Singapore Sorting recyclables by material could boost low domestic recycling rate: Observers Singapore SM Lee receives Australia's highest civilian honour for advancing bilateral ties Mr Musk initially received a warm White House send-off from Mr Trump, but then incurred the President's wrath by describing his tax cut and spending Bill as an abomination. Mr Trump pulled the nomination of Mr Musk's ally, tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, to lead Nasa and later threatened to cancel billions of dollars worth of federal contracts with Mr Musk's companies after the blow-up between them. The 'five things' e-mail, launched by Mr Musk in February to boost accountability, sparked tensions with department chiefs, who were blindsided by the weekend e-mail mandating the move. It also fuelled confusion among government workers, who received mixed messages about whether and how to comply. Reuters reported in March that the White House installed two Trump loyalists at OPM to ensure better policy coordination between the White House and the agency. Mr Scott Kupor, a venture capitalist who took the helm at OPM in July, had already foreshadowed the initiative's end, describing processing of the weekly response e-mails as 'very manual' and 'not efficient'. It is 'something that we should look at and see, like, are we getting the value out of it that at least the people who put it in place thought they were', he said. REUTERS
Straits Times
35 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump's envoy Witkoff lands in Moscow on last-minute trip before sanctions deadline
MOSCOW - U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Wednesday on a last-minute mission to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war, two days before the expiry of a deadline set by President Donald Trump for Russia to agree to peace or face new sanctions. Witkoff was greeted by Kirill Dmitriev, Russia's investment envoy and head of its sovereign wealth fund. State media showed the two men strolling together through a park near the Kremlin, deep in conversation. A source familiar with Witkoff's schedule told Reuters in Washington on Tuesday that Witkoff would meet with the Russian leadership on Wednesday. The Kremlin has said he may meet President Vladimir Putin, but has not confirmed that. Trump, increasingly frustrated with Putin over the lack of progress towards a peace deal in Ukraine, has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries that buy Russian exports. He is exerting particular pressure on India, which along with China is a huge buyer of Russian oil. The Kremlin says threats to penalise countries that trade with Russia are illegal. Putin is unlikely to bow to Trump's sanctions ultimatum because he believes he is winning the war and his military goals take precedence over his desire to improve relations with the U.S., three sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters. "The visit of Witkoff is a last-ditch effort to find a face-saving solution for both sides. I don't think, however, that there will be anything of a compromise between the two," said Gerhard Mangott, an Austrian analyst and member of a group of Western academics and journalists who have met regularly with Putin over the years. "Russia will insist it is prepared to have a ceasefire, but (only) under the conditions that it has formulated for the last two or three years already," he said in a telephone interview. "Trump will be under pressure to do what he has announced - to raise tariffs for all the countries buying oil and gas, and uranium probably as well, from Russia." The Russian sources told Reuters that Putin is sceptical that yet more U.S. sanctions will have much of an impact after successive waves of economic penalties during 3-1/2 years of war. The Russian leader does not want to anger Trump, and he realises that he may be spurning a chance to improve relations with Washington and the West, but his war goals are more important to him, two of the sources said. Witkoff, a real estate billionaire, has had several long meetings with Putin. He had no diplomatic experience before joining Trump's team in January, but has been simultaneously tasked with seeking ceasefires in the Ukraine and Gaza wars, as well as negotiating in the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme. Critics have portrayed him as out of his depth when pitched into a head-to-head negotiation with Putin, Russia's paramount leader for the past 25 years. On his last visit in April, Witkoff - unaccompanied by diplomats or aides - cut a lonely figure when seated across the table from Putin, Dmitriev and Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov. Critics have at times accused Witkoff of echoing the Kremlin's narrative. In an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson in March, for example, Witkoff said there was no reason why Russia would want to absorb Ukraine or bite off more of its territory, and it was "preposterous" to think that Putin would want to send his army marching across Europe. Ukraine and many of its European allies say the opposite. Putin denies any designs on NATO territory, and Moscow has repeatedly cast such charges as evidence of European hostility and "Russophobia". REUTERS
Straits Times
35 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Russian strikes kill two people, injure 10 in Zaporizhzhia, regional governor says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Russian strikes killed two people and wounded 10 others, including four children, in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Wednesday. Russian forces carried out 567 attacks over the 24 hours into Wednesday morning across 16 settlements in the region, Fedorov said. Zaporizhzhia has been on the front lines of the war that Russia launched against its smaller neighbour in February 2022. At least nine buildings were damaged in the early morning strikes on the Zaporizhzhia city district alone, Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging app. Zaporizhzhia city is the administrative centre of the broader region. "Emergency services continue to respond on the ground," Fedorov said. Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in their strikes on each other's territory. But thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian. REUTERS
