Leaders Of France, Italy And Germany Visit President Zelensky, Kremlin: Don't Focus On Guns, Totally Pointless

JAKARTA - The Kremlin said it hoped the leaders of France, Germany and Italy would not only discuss arms supplies during their visit to Kyiv on Thursday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he hoped the visit would encourage Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to look at the situation more realistically.

"I hope the leaders, will not focus only on supporting Ukraine by further pumping it up with weapons," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a phone call with reporters.

"It is completely useless, it will prolong the suffering of the people and cause new damage in this country," he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian PM Mariod Draghi, visited Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv on Thursday. The trio along with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis also met with President Zelensky.

Ukraine's desire to join the 27-nation European Union and its demand for additional arms supplies to counter Russian attacks are expected to be the two main themes of talks by EU leaders with President Zelensky in the future.

The Kremlin has repeatedly lashed out at Western arms supplies to Kyiv, saying they are dragging the conflict and complicating the search for a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Western powers have supplied Ukraine with billions of dollars worth of military equipment since the start of the conflict in an attempt to thwart Russia's advances.

Russian officials on Thursday said they were ready to resume peace talks with Ukraine, but again accused Kyiv of stalling.

Separately, Russia's top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said Moscow was ready to restart talks with Ukraine, but had received no response to proposals submitted to Kyiv in the previous round.