The Kremlin said on Friday that the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the three-and-a-half-year war have been 'paused'.
"Our negotiators have the opportunity to communicate through channels. But for now, it is probably more accurate to talk about a pause," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a statement, as reported by global media. "You can't wear rose-tinted glasses and expect that the negotiation process will yield immediate results."
Putin's Alaska visit and meet with Trump
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Alaska and met his American counterpart Donald Trump, in a bid to end the Ukraine war. Following the talks, the two leaders announced in a joint press conference that the summit was successful, with Putin inviting Trump to Moscow for another round of talks.
However, the peace talks have taken a hit as Russia and Ukraine continue to launch offensive and counter-offensive operations against each other. Amid this, Trump warned Putin of consequences, stressing that the Russian leader knows where he 'stands'.
"I have no message to President Putin," said Trump on September 3. "Whatever his decision is, we’ll either be happy about it or unhappy. And if we’re unhappy about it, you’ll see things happen."
Later, Trump had also warned of imposing additional sanctions on Russia if the conflict continued.
Putin ready to meet Zelenskyy but...
Interestingly, with Trump pushing for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, Putin earlier had said that he was ready to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Moscow, but asked what the point was in that. It must be noted that Putin wants the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to halt its eastward expansion. He also wants complete control over Ukraine's Donbas region.
"I have never ruled out the possibility of such a meeting... But is there any point? Let’s see," the Russian President had said.
