Putin willing to discuss Zelenskiy’s call for stop attacks on civilian infrastructure: Kremlin
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was a complex topic and President Vladimir Putin was ready for discussion. But he also told reporters that there is currently no specific plan, and talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Both sides have been in their fourth year after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened last week to abandon his attempt to get them to a deal.
Zelenskiy said on Monday that Ukraine is ready for any kind of discussion to end the attack on civilian facilities.
“Ukraine insists on its proposal not to strike at least civilian targets. We expect a clear response in Moscow,” he said. “We are ready to have a dialogue on how to achieve this.”
Asked about the Kremlin’s response, Peskov said the topic needs to be discussed, given Putin’s experience of a 30-hour Easter ceasefire announced over the weekend. He did not specify a link between the two questions. Both sides accused each other of breaking Easter truce countless times and repeatedly violating the suspension of businesses that the U.S. suffered last month for attacking energy targets such as the power grid and oil refineries. “In fact, the president explained the complexity of the topic just yesterday and answered the reporter’s questions. That is, if we talk about civilian infrastructure facilities, we need to clearly distinguish the situations where these facilities can be military targets and under what circumstances they cannot,” Peskov said.
He quoted Putin as saying that if enemy combatants met there, civilian facilities could be military targets. “So there are some nuances here that make sense of discussion,” Peskov said.
Both Ukraine and Russia were killed during the conflict, although more on the Ukrainian side.
At least 35 people were killed in a Russian missile strike in the Ukrainian city of Sumy on April 13, Kiev said it was a deliberate attack on civilians. Russia said this had already held a meeting of Ukrainian officers.
Zelenskiy said on Monday that the “main mission” of Ukraine, the U.S. and European countries in talks in London on Wednesday will push for an unconditional ceasefire on Wednesday.
Ukraine agreed last month to the principle of a full 30-day ceasefire, but Putin responded to a series of issues and conditions under which it implemented.
Russia often says talks with Ukraine are open, but under the 2022 Zelenskiy law, Kiev legally makes this impossible, prohibiting negotiations with Putin, after Russia announced annexation of part of its force control in four Ukrainian regions.
Peskov said if Ukraine wants to talk, then steps should be taken to “legally clear the barriers to this connection”.
