Russia sees no grounds for Ukraine talks but mentions peace more frequently

There are no grounds yet for negotiations on how to bring the war in Ukraine to an end, Russia said on Wednesday, in comments about peace talks that have become more frequent since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential vote in November. 

"There are no grounds for negotiations yet," the Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told the Izvestia newspaper, reiterating Moscow's long-standing position on the talks. 

"Many countries have declared their readiness to provide their territory ... And we are grateful to all countries for such goodwill, including Qatar." 

Qatar has mediated several returns of Ukrainian children taken to Russia from the conflict zone since the start of the war. Thousands of civilians, the vast majority of them Ukrainians, have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. 

Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, said on Monday that there could be attempts to begin peace talks with Ukraine in 2025. 

In late November, sources told Reuters that Russian President Vladimir Putin was open to discussing a ceasefire deal in Ukraine with Trump and could agree to freeze the conflict along the front line. Russian forces control about 20% of Ukraine's territory and have been advancing lately at the fastest pace since the early days of the war. 

But the Kremlin has said repeatedly it will not negotiate with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy unless Ukraine renounces its ambition to join NATO and withdraws troops from territories now controlled by Russian troops. 

Kyiv, which on Tuesday declared that it would not settle for anything less than NATO membership to guarantee its future security, has also said it will not compromise its territory. 

With Trump promising to bring the war to a swift end after taking office in January and naming an envoy to Ukraine who favours freezing battle lines, concerns are growing in Kyiv and among its allies that the terms of any potential ceasefire pact would favour Russia and leave Ukraine in a vulnerable position. 

U.S. President Joe Biden's outgoing administration - Ukraine's largest supporter - has sought to bolster Kyiv before leaving office, allowing Ukraine to use its long-range missiles to strike into Russia. 

On Monday, in the latest of similar moves, it approved another military aid package to Kyiv, this time worth $725 million. 

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