At the previous round of peace negotiations, Russia’s list of demands to end the war included Ukraine conceding significant portions of its sovereign territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled a readiness to negotiate peace with Ukraine, but Moscow will prioritize its goals, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on July 20.
Speaking on state television on Sunday, Peskov said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s sometimes “harsh” rhetoric has become normalized for much of the world, but also highlighted that Trump has reiterated in comments on Russia that his goal is striking a peace agreement.
“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 television reporter Pavel Zarubin.
“The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear.”
Trump spoke to Putin on July 3 on the possibility of a cease-fire with Ukraine.
“I didn’t make any progress with him at all,” Trump told reporters after the call.
He added that he was “not happy” about the status of a potential cease-fire agreement.
While the Pentagon initially said it would pause some shipments of weapons to Ukraine while conducting a “capability review,” Trump eventually reversed course.
He said on July 14 he’d be taking a tougher position toward Russia and offered a new round of military aid to Ukraine, including Patriot missile defense systems.
Trump also said he would impose 100 percent “secondary tariffs” on Russia if Putin refuses to agree to a cease-fire with Ukraine in the next 50 days. The levies effectively add another layer of tariffs to any nations that buy Russian oil and energy exports, including China and India.
Last week, the European Union agreed to another round of sanctions on Russia, which include punitive measures aimed right at Moscow’s energy sector.
On July 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a new round of peace talks with Russia following the two held in Turkey earlier this year. The initial peace negotiations have yielded no progress so far.
By Jacob Burg
