Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual televised year-end press conference and phone-in held in Moscow, Russia, December 19, 2024.
The Russians are open to discussing peace negotiations with the U.S. to halt the war in Ukraine that started over three years ago when Russia invaded its neighbor.
“We are ready to discuss the initiatives set out there in future contacts with the United States. Such contacts are already possible as early as today,” said Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov also said U.S. negotiators were traveling to Russia to Russia Thursday and discussions were planned.
“Negotiators are indeed flying in, and contacts are indeed planned,” Peskov told reporters. “We won’t get ahead of ourselves — we’ll talk about it afterward.”
Ukraine agreed to a 30-day cease-fire proposal from the U.S. during talks in Saudi Arabia earlier this week between top officials from both nations. The U.S. said it would present the ceasefire proposal to Russia following the diplomatic breakthrough with Ukraine.
President Donald Trump has made clear his intention to end the fighting in Ukraine and bring both countries to the negotiating table. Trump and Vice President JD Vance had a heated dispute last month with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House over American military aid to Ukraine and the chances of peace with Russia.
Zelensky later issued a statement expressing regret for how the White House meeting turned out, opening the door for the peace negotiations. The confrontation caused the U.S. to temporarily halt military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, which were both restored as part of the cease-fire deal.
The dispute also meant a minerals agreement between the two countries was not signed, but the deal is now back on the table following the productive discussions in Saudi Arabia. Trump predicted over the weekend on Air Force One that Ukraine would end up signing the minerals deal, National Review’s Audrey Fahlberg reported.
Before the blowup with Zelensky, Trump had intensified his rhetoric towards Ukraine, calling Zelensky a “dictator” and blaming him for the war against Russia that began because of Russia’s invasion. Trump later backtracked his comments about Zelensky and praised the bravery of Ukraine’s military forces.
Last month, American officials met with their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia for talks that were meant to reset relations and open the door to future peace negotiations. The meeting came after President Trump spoke with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin earlier in February.
Meanwhile, the fighting between Russia and Ukraine continues, with a Russian missile attack killing one person and wounding at least nine in the central Ukrainian town of Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky’s home town. Russia’s attack on Zelensky’s home town follows a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow earlier this week on strategic Russian oil assets. Three people were killed and 18 were injured in the process.
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James Lynch is a news writer for National Review. He previously was a reporter for the Daily Caller. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and based in the Washington, D.C. area.