The Kremlin said on Sunday that Russia was open to talks on Ukraine after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump called for “an immediate ceasefire and negotiations”.

In a post on X on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Russia quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, saying, “We have carefully read the statement by US President-elect Donald Trump, made after his meeting with Macron and Zelensky in Paris. Russia is open to negotiations on Ukraine and welcomes peace initiatives. The conditions required to cease hostilities were laid out by President Putin.”

Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron on December 7 in Paris during the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, which had been severely damaged in the devastating 2019 fire. After the meeting, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, saying, “There should be an immediate ceasefire, and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed.”

The Kremlin statement further emphasized that President Putin has repeatedly said Russia is open to negotiations on Ukraine and welcomes peace initiatives, “primarily those coming from countries of the Global South, as well as our BRICS partners, including China, Brazil, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, which are engaged in humanitarian efforts.”

Peskov also highlighted Ukraine’s “rejection” of negotiations, accusing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of blocking dialogue with Moscow through a decree. “Our stance on Ukraine is well known. The conditions required to cease hostilities immediately were laid out by President Putin in June this year in his speech at Russia’s Foreign Ministry,” the statement said.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which began in 2014 with Russia’s annexation of Crimea, escalated into a full-scale war in February 2022 when Russia launched a large-scale military invasion of Ukraine.

(With agency inputs)