Kremlin says communications between Russia and Ukraine 'on pause'

MOSCOW

Communications between the Russian and Ukrainian negotiating groups are currently on hold, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

Speaking at a news briefing in Moscow, Peskov said that while the channels are established and open, they are not being used.

"The communication channels are there, they are functioning. Our negotiators have an opportunity to communicate through these channels, but for now it is probably more accurate to speak about a pause," he said.

This pause comes after three rounds of talks hosted in Istanbul, Türkiye since May, which resulted in agreements for “thousand-for-thousand” prisoner swaps and the repatriation of soldiers' bodies. The latest round had expanded discussions to include civilians and proposals for joint working groups and short humanitarian ceasefires.

Peskov reiterated that Russia remains ready for dialogue, while accusing Europe of impeding the process.

"The Russian side continues to be ready to pursue peaceful dialogue and seek ways to resolve the conflict. However, it is true that Europeans are hindering this effort. This is no secret," he argued.

He cautioned that negotiations cannot yield instant results and that no one should be overly optimistic, referencing US President Donald Trump’s initial belief in a rapid resolution, which later changed.

On European reactions to the ongoing Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2025 military exercises, Peskov said they appeared “emotionally charged."

He added: "Under normal conditions of constructive, peaceful, and friendly coexistence, representatives of neighboring countries always had the possibility to observe such drills."

"Such a practice existed. Now, however, given Western Europe's hostile stance towards us, naturally all this leads to similar emotional overloads for those countries.”

Peskov said Russia has never threatened any European state while NATO has been persistently moving towards Russia's borders.

"It is precisely Europe, being part of NATO, which serves as a tool of confrontation rather than peace and stability, that has consistently moved closer to our borders," he said.