Image Credit: GRIGORY SYSOYEV / Contributor / Getty 
On Friday the Kremlin countered sentiment of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov who on Wednesday said that the momentum of peace that was built during the August summit in Alaska between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was largely gone now.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the “spirit” and “impulse” to reach a negotiated settlement in the Ukraine war which was generated at the Pursuing Peace summit is still alive.
Peskov also said he hopes that Trump “maintains the political will for a peaceful settlement” as well. He said that the Kremlin remains optimistic “in the spirit of Anchorage” but mentioned “not very good developments” with Ukraine’s recent actions, which he linked this to the influence of Ukraine’s European enablers. Peskov described the European’s actions as “hard to explain, frenzied, and militaristic.”
The Kremlin spokesman did note that Ukraine’s negotiating position is “deteriorating with each passing day.”
The positive outlook on peace is not shared with all in Moscow’s government however.
“Unfortunately, the powerful momentum from the Anchorage [summit] in favor of [peace] agreements has largely been undermined through efforts by opponents and efforts by supporters of ‘war till the last Ukrainian’, mostly among the Europeans,” Ryabkov said Wednesday.
RT described Russia’s current position in the conflict:
He stated that the Istanbul talks with Kiev have been put on “on pause” because the Ukrainian side has not replied to any of Russia’s proposals.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations have met several times for talks this year. After the latest round in Istanbul in July, the two sides agreed to set up working groups to develop a settlement plan addressing political, military, and humanitarian issues. Peskov has said nothing is moving forward because Kiev has not answered the proposals or replied to the draft document submitted by Moscow.
