AGENCIES

The Kremlin said yesterday that Russia agreed with US President Donald Trump that it was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, not Russia, who was holding up a potential peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump’s assessment in an interview with Reuters contrasted to that of European allies, who have consistently argued that Moscow has little interest in ending the fighting and wants to take as much territory as it can while seeking to stave off further Western sanctions, reports Reuters.

“I think he’s ready to make a deal,” Trump said of Putin when speaking to Reuters in the Oval Office on Wednesday. “I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal.” Asked why US-led negotiations had not yet resolved Europe’s largest land conflict since World War Two, Trump responded: “Zelensky.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked that he concurred with Trump: “I agree, that is indeed the case. President Putin and the Russian side remain open (to talks). The Russian position is well known. It is well known to the American negotiators, to President Trump, and to the leadership of the Kyiv regime.”

The Kremlin said Ukraine was running out of options to strike a deal to end almost four years of war with Russia, as thousands were without heating in Kyiv in -12C temperatures following waves of Russian strikes on the country’s energy grid, reports AFP.

“The situation is deteriorating day by day for the Kyiv regime,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, including AFP, adding that Ukraine’s “corridor for decision-making” was “narrowing”.