A demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine in Milan on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE/MATTEO CORNER
The furious row between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday was cited by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday as evidence that Zelensky “doesn’t want peace”.
The confrontation at the White House “certainly demonstrated how difficult it would be to reach a settlement on Ukraine”, Peskov said, adding that “Washington’s efforts and Moscow’s readiness alone may not be enough” to achieve peace.
Continuing to position Moscow as “open to negotiations” while simultaneously accusing Kyiv of refusing to come to the negotiating table, Peskov said that Russia’s “good intentions” were being stymied by Kyiv’s “unwillingness” to negotiate — mirroring the claims made by Trump on Friday that Zelensky’s “tremendous hatred” for Putin was hindering peace in Ukraine.
Describing what he called the “fragmentation of the collective West” following the White House confrontation on Friday, Peskov alluded to the growing rift between Washington and Europe over how to resolve the war in Ukraine.
According to a CNN report published on Sunday, Moscow is keen to continue the direct negotiations with Washington that began on 18 February in Riyadh, adding that efforts to expedite an in-person meeting between Putin and Trump were already underway.
While Moscow appeared to revel in the fallout from the disastrous White House meeting, a source close to the Kremlin told Bloomberg on Saturday that the Russian leadership was nevertheless still “wary of traps” as it did not fully understand Trump’s strategy on Ukraine.
Zelensky, who after a weekend spent reappraising the situation with Ukraine’s European allies in the UK, was described to the BBC as “bruised but motivated” by one member of his entourage, insisted on Sunday evening that while Ukraine was still prepared to sign the natural resources deal with the US that fell apart on Friday, he would not apologise to Trump, despite demands for a public apology from some quarters. “Our freedoms and values are not for sale,” Zelensky told the BBC.
