Filenews 17 March 2022
New hopes for an agreement between Moscow and Kiev that could lead to a viable peace plan in Ukraine were left today by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Peskov leaves spikes against Ukraine by claiming that Russia appears more ready than the other side, but adds that if certain conditions are met, all that is happening could be ended – as he characteristically says.
The Kremlin announced today that Russia has invested too much energy in talks to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine, which could very quickly end the Russian invasion of the country.
Colossal efforts
"Our delegation is making colossal efforts and appears more ready than the other side," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"If we agree on a document, if all its conditions are met and implemented, then it will be able to stop what is happening very quickly," he continued.
What he said about the draft agreement
When asked about the Financial Times article, according to which Ukraine and Russia have made significant progress in drawing up a peace plan, the Kremlin spokesman replied: "It is not right, there is evidence that is valid, but on the whole it is wrong."
Peskov also called the "war criminal" used by US President Joe Biden against his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin unacceptable.
"Fire" v. USA
Peskov added that the US has no right to reprimand Russia as it has been embroiled in many conflicts.
At the same time, the Kremlin spokesman estimated that many people in Russia are proving to be traitors, referring to those who resign from their jobs and leave the country.
Peskov made this comment after Putin yesterday severely warned the Russian "traitors", whom he denounced, the West wants to use as a "fifth convoy" to destroy Russia. The Russian president said Russia will suffer a natural and necessary "self-cleansing" as citizens will be able to "distinguish the real patriots from the waste and the traitors."
"In these difficult times (...) many people show their true character. Too many people are proving to be, as we say in Russian, traitors," the Kremlin spokesman underlined today.
"They are disappearing from society. Some people are leaving their jobs, some are leaving active working lives, some are leaving the country and moving to others. That's how this purge takes place," Peskov stressed.
Moscow disregards international criminal court ruling
Moscow also rejected the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which yesterday Wednesday asked Russia to immediately cease its military operations in Ukraine.
"We cannot take this decision into account," Peskov said, underlining that the two sides—Russia and Ukraine—would have to agree so that the decision could be implemented.
He even concluded that any default on interest payments on foreign bonds would be completely artificial.
"The fact is that from the beginning we have stated that Russia has the necessary resources and the ability to avoid a default, there can be no default," the Kremlin spokesman underlined.
"Any default that may arise will have a completely artificial character," he noted.
"Nails" of the Ukrainian negotiator for Russia
However, a few hours earlier, the Ukrainian negotiator and adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky, Mihailo Pontoljak, in a new post, referred to the tactics of the Russians.
Pontoljak in his Twitter post notes that things are fluid on all fronts and there are point-to-point battles with the spot. The Ukrainian negotiator accuses Russia of creating local traps for citizens, while making targeted strikes in places where citizens are hiding.
At the same time, he blames Moscow for the longest delay in decisions on humanitarian corridors, while noting that there are reports of Russian efforts to incite internal conflicts within Ukraine.
