Russia denies openness to negotiate Kyiv’s accession to NATO

“EThis information is wrong and does not coincide at all with reality”said the spokesman for the Russian Presidency (Kremlin), Dmitri Peskov, at the usual daily press conference.

Previously, and citing sources close to the Kremlin, the Bloomberg news agency had reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to understand whether Washington was in favor of starting talks on ending the war in Ukraine.

According to two sources cited by Bloomberg, the Russian leader sent signals to the United States of America (USA) about Moscow’s possible willingness to enter into dialogue.

According to information provided by the news agency, the Kremlin leader may be willing to consider Ukraine’s possible accession to the Atlantic Alliance, as long as Kiev accepts the new “territorial realities”, referring to the Ukrainian regions annexed by Moscow.

Until now, Ukraine has always opposed making territorial concessions to Moscow or freezing the conflict because, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, this would only benefit Moscow.

The Kremlin also today censured Western countries for not having condemned the downing of the Russian military transport plane Il-76, which was carrying Ukrainian prisoners and which according to Moscow was the responsibility of Ukraine, during Thursday’s meeting of the Security Council of the United Nations.

“So far there is no categorical condemnation from Western countries about this horrible terrorist attack. We have not heard a single word of condemnation,” Peskov said.

According to the Kremlin spokesman, “this event requires an adequate assessment by the international community”, since, he claimed, “this is not the first time that Kiev has killed its own people”.

Asked about the willingness of the Russian Presidency to present evidence to the UN or other international organizations that Ukraine was involved in the plane crash or that the Ukrainian authorities knew who was traveling on board the plane, Peskov simply replied that, at the moment, they did not had “nothing to add”.

“Investigators are working and decisions will be made as they obtain all the necessary information,” he added.

According to the Russian version, the Il-76 military transport plane was shot down on Wednesday by Ukraine with 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board, as well as six crew members and three Russian guards, who was allegedly traveling to Ukraine to exchange money. prisoners.

For its part, Ukraine, which confirmed that an exchange was being prepared, claims that the plane was carrying weapons and not prisoners of war.

The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24, 2022, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since the Second World War (1939-1945).

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