ISTANBUL

Kyiv is delaying peace negotiations with Moscow at the behest of Britain and other European countries seeking to prolong the conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special representative to the US claimed during a visit to Washington, according to Russia’s Tass news agency.​​​​​​​

Kirill Dmitriev, who also heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), told reporters that Ukraine “is unwilling to resolve the problems, the accumulated issues that need to be addressed.”

He added that he intends to inform his American counterparts that “Ukraine, unfortunately, is disrupting the dialogue that is necessary.”

“Ukraine is disrupting the process at the request of the British, at the request of the Europeans, who want the conflict to continue,” he said.

Dmitriev is in the US as part of talks on investment and economic cooperation with foreign partners.