On Peace Deal With Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin: Today Kyiv Does Not Have That Desire

Presiden Vladimir Putin. (Wikimedia Commons/The Presidential Press and Information Office)

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow saw no desire from Ukraine to fulfill the terms of what he described as the initial peace deal agreed in March.

President Putin, speaking to reporters in televised comments after a visit to Iran, said Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.

Asked about a possible meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Putin said Kyiv was not sticking to the terms of the initial peace deal which he said had been "practically reached" in March, without elaborating.

"The final outcome of course, depends on the willingness of the parties to implement the agreements that have been reached. Today we see that the powers in Kyiv have no such desire," he said.

It is known that the Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations took place in March, with both sides making proposals but without a breakthrough. At the time, President Zelensky said only the concrete results of the talks could be trusted.

There was no immediate response from the Ukrainian government to Putin's remarks in the early hours of Wednesday.

As previously reported, senior Russian officials said the country would achieve all its goals and there would be peace in Ukraine, as they ramp up attacks on targets in Ukraine with missiles.

More than two weeks have passed since Russia's last major territorial gain, capturing the eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk, with the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army saying on Tuesday, Moscow forces were busy propping up their positions in recently captured territory and carrying out ground offensives that limited but not successful, although in a variety of different locations.

Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president who is now deputy head of the Security Council, said Moscow was ready to do whatever it took to win the battle in Ukraine.

"Russia will achieve all its goals. There will be peace, on our decisive terms," Medvedev said.

Earlier, the Kremlin said there was no time limit for the conflict which Ukraine and the West called a war of unprovoked aggression, designed to seize territory and erase Ukraine's identity.