Latest news with #DmitryPeskov
Russia Today
5 hours ago
- General
- Russia Today
Kremlin speaks out on Macron slap
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was reluctant to comment on French President Emmanuel Macron being pushed in the face by his spouse Brigitte, saying it was unacceptable to talk about such family issues. However, he went on to point out that a wife always has a reason to slap her husband. The footage of the incident was captured as the French first couple arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May 25. The video shows the aircraft door opening to reveal Macron speaking to someone off-camera. Moments later, two arms in red sleeves reach out and push his face, covering his mouth and jaw. Macron steps back, smiles, and waves after noticing the cameras. Brigitte soon appears beside him, wearing a red jacket. The video later went viral, prompting the president to downplay the incident, describing it as the two of them just 'bickering and joking.' 'You know, I am convinced that it would be inappropriate for us to comment on the Macron family's private matters,' Peskov said. 'On the other hand, if a wife slaps her husband, she never does it without a reason, but still, it's not our business.' Shifting away from celebrity gossip, the spokesman emphasized that Paris isn't working towards peace, and opting to increase pressure on Moscow instead. 'France still believes that something can be achieved with Russia through pressure — this reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of our country,' Peskov said, adding that the fact that the French leader 'does not understand the reality of the situation' is regrettable. France has provided over €3.8 billion ($4.2 billion) in military aid to Kiev since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, according to the Kiel Institute. Authorities in Paris have advocated deploying French troops to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal between Kiev and Moscow, arguing that it could help deter Russia. In March, Macron announced a French-British plan to prepare such a 'reassurance force' in the event of a ceasefire. The announcement sparked protests in Paris against what demonstrators called NATO's militaristic stance. Russia has repeatedly warned it won't accept the presence of any NATO country's troops in Ukraine, and pointed out that the military bloc's expansion in Europe had been a primary reason for the conflict.
Free Malaysia Today
6 hours ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Kremlin expects a ceasefire conditions discussion in Istanbul
Dmitry Peskov said everyone is focused on the direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul on June 2. (AP pool pic) MOSCOW : The Kremlin expects Russia and Ukraine to discuss the list of conditions for a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine next week in Istanbul, its spokesman said on Friday, praising the US role in mediating the talks. Russia has proposed holding the second round of talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2. However, Ukraine wants to see Russia's proposals for a peace deal before it sends a delegation to Turkey, foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on Friday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian delegation would be travelling to Istanbul and would be ready for talks with Ukraine on Monday morning. 'At the moment, everyone is focused on the direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations. A list of conditions for a temporary truce is being developed,' Peskov told reporters. He said the details of the memorandum will not be published. Reuters reported earlier this week that Putin's conditions for ending the war in Ukraine include a demand that Western leaders pledge in writing to stop enlarging Nato eastwards. US President Donald Trump's envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said earlier on Friday that Russia's concern over the eastward enlargement of Nato was fair and the United States did not want to see Ukraine in the US-led military alliance. Commenting on Kellogg's statement, Peskov said that Putin has been consistently conveying Russia's position on the inadmissibility of Nato's eastward expansion. 'We are pleased that these explanations by the president are understood, including in Washington. And, of course, this is quite appealing to us in terms of the mediating role that Washington continues to play,' Peskov said. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops.
Free Malaysia Today
6 hours ago
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Russia says no response from Ukraine on Istanbul talks
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Kyiv's demand 'non-constructive'. (Kremlin pool/EPA Images pic) MOSCOW : Russia on Thursday said it was still waiting for Ukraine to say whether it would attend peace talks in Istanbul on Monday, after Kyiv demanded Moscow send its peace terms before agreeing to the meeting. Diplomatic efforts to end the three-year conflict have gained pace in recent months, but Moscow has shown no signs of easing its bombardment of Ukraine while rebuffing calls for an immediate ceasefire. Moscow has offered to hold a second round of direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2, where it wants to present a so-called 'memorandum' outlining its conditions for a long-term peace settlement. But, Ukraine said the meeting would not yield results unless it saw a copy of the memorandum in advance, a proposal that the Kremlin dismissed. 'As far as I know, no response has been received yet… we need to wait for a response from the Ukrainian side,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, calling Kyiv's demand that Russia provide peace conditions up front as 'non-constructive'. Ukraine said it had already submitted its peace terms to Russia and demanded Moscow do the same. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Russia and Ukraine not to 'shut the door' on dialogue ahead of the anticipated meeting in Istanbul. The warring sides previously met in Istanbul on May 16, their first direct talks in over three years. Those talks failed to yield a breakthrough, but the two sides did agree to trade 1,000 prisoners each – their biggest POW swap since the beginning of the conflict. Erdogan's foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, who met Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, was expected to travel to Kyiv on Thursday to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. US President Donald Trump, who has been pushing for a peace deal, has become increasingly frustrated with Moscow's apparent stalling and warned on Wednesday he would determine within 'about two weeks' whether Putin was serious about ending the fighting. Moscow's offensive, launched in Feb 2022, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the destruction of large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine. Attacks go on Ukraine, on Thursday, criticised Russia's refusal to provide the memorandum. 'The Russians' fear of sending their memorandum to Ukraine suggests that it is likely filled with unrealistic ultimatums,' foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy said. The Kremlin has been grinding forward on the battlefield for over a year while pushing its demands for peace, which include Ukraine abandoning its Nato ambitions and ceding territory it already controls. Local authorities in Ukraine said Thursday that Russia had fired 90 drones overnight, killing at least five people across the country. In southern Ukraine, a drone strike killed two civilians in the Kherson region, while a ballistic missile attack claimed the life of a farm worker in the Mykolaiv region. In the eastern Donetsk region, shelling killed one civilian, according to a 24-hour tally from the National Police. A 68-year-old man was killed by a drone strike on his home in the northeastern Sumy region, which borders Russia. In his comments on Wednesday, Trump told reporters he was 'very disappointed' at Russia's deadly bombardment during the negotiating process, but rebuffed calls to impose more sanctions on Moscow. Kyiv has accused Russia of deliberately stalling the peace process to pursue its offensive. Zelensky said Russia was 'amassing' more than 50,000 troops on the front line around Sumy, where Moscow's army has captured a number of settlements as it seeks to establish what Putin has called a 'buffer zone' inside Ukrainian territory. On Thursday, the Russian army said it captured three villages in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions and had repelled 48 Ukrainian drones, including three over the Moscow region. A retired Russian commander who led air strikes on the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol died in a blast early Thursday in Stavropol in southern Russia, authorities said, adding that they did not rule out Ukrainian involvement.
Russia Today
18 hours ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Kremlin responds to Ukraine's criticism of peace proposal
Ukraine's demands that Russia 'immediately' delivers its draft roadmap for ceasefire talks are undermining diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Delegations from both countries are expected to meet soon to discuss their respective proposals for a truce. Moscow yesterday proposed a meeting in Istanbul on Monday to discuss the drafts. In response, Ukrainian officials criticized Moscow for not sharing its document ahead of time, accusing Russia of stalling the talks process. 'Demanding [to see the Russian document] immediately is just unconstructive. They should either confirm they are prepared for talks or say otherwise,' Peskov told reporters on Thursday during a regular briefing. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Kiev's lead negotiator, said on Wednesday that he had already sent Ukraine's draft to Moscow and claimed Russia was delaying its response. Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga echoed the sentiment, insisting Russia should 'immediately submit their proposals for our consideration.' Umerov also repeated Ukraine's call for 'a full and unconditional ceasefire.' Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, said on Wednesday that he had contacted Umerov to finalize the date and venue for an exchange of memorandums. The next round of talks would also involve 'substantive discussion of each point of the package agreement on a future ceasefire,' he added. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later confirmed that Moscow's document is ready, ahead of a proposed resumption of talks, sparking the complaints from Kiev. Peskov said that Kiev had yet to formally confirm participation in the meeting. Ukrainian officials previously insisted upon a 30-day pause in hostilities as a precondition for negotiations. Russia rejected the proposal, arguing it would give Kiev time to regroup militarily. Ukraine later revised its position after the administration of US President Donald Trump stated that it saw direct Russia-Ukraine talks as the next logical step toward a peace settlement. While pursuing diplomacy, Ukraine has also urged its Western backers to impose additional sanctions over Russia's refusal to accept an immediate ceasefire and has also intensified long-range strikes inside Russian territory.
Epoch Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Moscow Expects to Discuss Cease-Fire Conditions in Istanbul
Moscow expects to discuss the conditions for a cease-fire with representatives from Kyiv in Istanbul next week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. Russia has suggested the second batch of talks with Kyiv take place on June 2, but Ukraine officials have said they want to see the Kremlin's proposals for any deal ahead of despatching its delegation to the Turkish city.
