Kremlin says no agreement yet on Vatican peace talks
Dmitry Peskov denied a Wednesday Wall Street Journal report on follow-up talks in mid-June. (EPA Images pic)
MOSCOW : The Kremlin said on Thursday it had not yet agreed to peace talks with Ukraine at the Vatican, after US media reported the city state could host a meeting soon.
Russian and Ukrainian officials held their first face-to-face talks on the conflict in more than three years last week in Istanbul, but did not reach an agreement on a ceasefire.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that follow-up talks between the two sides were expected to take place at the Vatican, starting mid-June, but the Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied this.
'There have been no agreements on this matter,' Peskov told reporters.
Peskov also denied Finnish President Alexander Stubb's suggestion that 'technical talks' could take place at the Vatican as early as next week.
'There are no specific agreements for the next meetings. This has yet to be agreed upon,' the Kremlin spokesman said.
US President Donald Trump spoke with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday, but neither his call nor the earlier talks in Istanbul resulted in Russia offering any concessions.
Putin has repeatedly rejected proposals for a 30-day truce put forward by Kyiv and its Western allies, proposing instead to work on a vague 'memorandum' outlining Russia's positions.
Moscow launched a full-scale military assault on Ukraine in Feb 2022 and currently occupies around a fifth of its neighbour's territory.
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