Kremlin comments on reported ‘secret talks’ with Ukraine
Reports that Russia and Ukraine are now talking about halting strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure are a hoax, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters, Peskov was asked to comment on a Financial Times article which claimed, citing sources, that Moscow and Kiev are “in preliminary discussions” on the issue. FT noted that Ukraine “was seeking to resume Qatar-mediated negotiations that came close to an agreement in August before being derailed by Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk [Region].”
The paper also said that any breakthrough in terms of stopping attacks on energy infrastructure would “mark the most significant de-escalation” in the conflict to date. It added, citing a senior Ukrainian official, that the two sides have already decreased the frequency of strikes “as part of an understanding reached by their intelligence agencies.”
However, Peskov responded to the report by saying that “nowadays there are a lot of bogus stories that have nothing to do with the reality,” adding that “even the most respectable publications do not shy away from planting this misleading information.”
The spokesman also reiterated that the conflict can end only after Ukraine leaves Russian territory, including Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye Regions. He was referring to a peace initiative floated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in June, who said that Moscow would immediately declare a ceasefire and start talks if Kiev started a troop withdrawal from those areas and recommitted to neutrality.
Former Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, who now serves as the secretary of the Security Council, said in September that Moscow had received a Turkish request to suspend strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. However, he claimed that while Russia was willing to consider a potential deal, the Ukrainian side had rejected the idea. The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that “there are currently no talks with the Kiev regime on the security of... critical infrastructure.”
Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky floated the idea of suspending mutual strikes on energy infrastructure, suggesting that “this [could] lead to the end of the war’s hot phase.”
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly complained that recurring Russian long-range strikes have wreaked havoc on the country’s power facilities, with Ukrainian officials and their Western backers estimating that the country has lost about half of its generation capacity.
