Guarantees of Ukraine's Non-Alignment With NATO One of Cornerstone Issues - Kremlin
10:26 GMT 15.12.2025 (Updated: 10:39 GMT 15.12.2025)
© Sputnik / Natalia Seliverstova
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The issue of guarantees of Ukraine's non-alignment with NATO is one of cornerstone elements, it is subject to special discussion, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
On Sunday, Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his readiness to refuse to join NATO if he receives security guarantees from individual countries, including the United States.
"Naturally, this issue is one of the most important and, of course, it is subject to special discussion compared to the others," Peskov told reporters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to peace and serious decisions on Ukraine and is not open to tricks to create temporary respites, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said.
Last week, Financial Times reported, citing sources, that US President Donald Trump hopes to reach an agreement on a settlement in Ukraine by Christmas.
"We can only speak for the Russian side, for president Putin. He is open to peace, to serious peace, to serious decisions. And he is absolutely not open to any tricks aimed at stalling for time and creating artificial respites," Peskov told reporters.
Russia does not want to conduct "megaphone negotiations" on the Ukrainian settlement, the official added.
US President Donald Trump and his administration are sincerely working on a settlement in Ukraine, and Russia highly appreciates this, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"Trump is sincerely working on a settlement, and he wants a Ukrainian settlement, he wants a settlement of this conflict. And he makes efforts, and his whole team makes efforts. We highly appreciate these efforts," Peskov told reporters.
Russia expects Washington to present it with vision for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine after discussions with Europeans and Ukrainians, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said.
On Sunday, Berlin hosted negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement, involving US special envoy Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Volodymyr Zelensky. The meeting lasted five hours. Witkoff later reported progress on a 20-point settlement plan.
"Work is currently underway; as far as we understand, it continues today. It is being conducted between US negotiators, Europeans, and Ukrainians. Once they complete their part of the work, we will expect that we will receive from our American interlocutors the vision that is being discussed today in Berlin," Peskov told reporters, when asked about the Berlin talks.
At the same time, Washington is not discussing with Russia in real time the settlement proposals that are being discussed with Ukraine, the spokesman added.
"I will not presume to talk about any timeframes; I think that would be the most thankless task right now," Peskov also said. when asked whether there was a chance to reach an agreed position on Ukraine by December 25, as Trump wants.
