Russia-Ukraine war: Vladimir Putin ready for peace talks; sets big condition

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready for peace talks with Ukraine but Moscow remains committed to achieving its “main goal”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, Reuters reported citing state media on Sunday.“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 said.“The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear,” he added.Peskov noted that the world had grown used to US President Donald Trump’s occasionally “harsh” rhetoric, but emphasized that Trump had also made it clear he remained committed to pursuing a peace agreement with Russia.This came after Kyiv proposed a new round of peace talks next week after negotiations got stalled in early June.“Security Council Secretary Umerov also reported that he had proposed the next meeting with the Russian side for next week. The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up.” AFP quoted Ukrainian President Zelenskyy as saying.Trump, on Monday, unveiled new weapons support for Ukraine and warned that sanctions would target buyers of Russian exports unless Moscow agreed to a peace deal within 50 days.Two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul between Moscow and Kyiv failed to produce any breakthrough toward a ceasefire, resulting instead in agreements on large-scale prisoner swaps and the repatriation of fallen soldiers’ bodies.