Kremlin says prisoner deal ‘completely different’ from Ukraine situation
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Ukraine has said that it is now preparing a detailed peace plan by November as a basis for a second summit to which it has said that Russia will be invited.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MOSCOW – The Kremlin on Aug 2 said possible talks over the conflict in Ukraine were based on “completely different principles” from negotiations over a prisoner swap deal that saw 24 people freed on Aug 1.
“If we talk about Ukraine and more complex international problems, there are completely different principles,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, when asked whether the prisoner exchange could lead to negotiations over Ukraine.
“The work there is conducted in a completely different mode,” he said.
There were official talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in 2022 in the weeks following the start of Russia’s offensive, but there have been none since then.
The two sides have some contact, often through intermediaries, for prisoner exchanges, the transfer of soldiers’ remains and the return of children from Russia to Ukraine.
Ukraine in June organised a peace summit in Switzerland which was attended by representatives of around 100 countries. Russia was not invited and China, a key Russian ally, declined to take part.
Ukraine has said that it is now preparing a detailed peace plan by November as a basis for a second summit, to which it has said that Russia will be invited.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukrainian troops abandon even more territory in the south and east of the country if Kyiv wants the fighting to stop.
The conditions have been slammed as unacceptable by Ukraine and the West. AFP
