Kremlin says open to peace with Ukraine; but insists on achieving its goals

Russia is open to peace with Ukraine, but achieving its goals remains a priority, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday, days after US President Donald Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face tougher sanctions.

Peskov and other Russian officials have repeatedly rejected accusations from Kyiv and its Western partners of stalling peace talks. Meanwhile, Moscow continues to intensify its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, launching more drones in a single night than it did during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate.

President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy, Peskov told state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin.

The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear, he added. 

The Kremlin has insisted that any peace deal should see Ukraine withdraw from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully captured. It also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its armed forces demands Kyiv and its Western allies have rejected.

US President Donald Trump threatened Russia on July 14 with steep tariffs and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance toward Moscow after months of frustration following unsuccessful negotiations aimed at ending the war. The direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul resulted in several rounds of prisoner exchanges but little else.

Trump said he would implement severe tariffs unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. He provided few details on how they would be implemented, but suggested they would target Russia's trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy.

In addition, Trump said European allies would buy billions and billions of dollars of US military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country's supplies of weapons. Included in the plan are Patriot air defense systems, a top priority for Ukraine as it fends off Russian drones and missiles.

Doubts were recently raised about Trump's commitment to supply Ukraine when the Pentagon paused shipments over concerns that US stockpiles were running low.