Kremlin says nothing 'promising' from Russia-Ukraine talks

Talks are continuing but 'there is a lot of work to be done', said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. AP

The Kremlin on Wednesday played down hopes of a breakthrough after peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegates in Istanbul a day earlier.

"We cannot state that there was anything too promising or any breakthroughs," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "There is a lot of work to be done."

Mr Peskov said Moscow considered it "positive" that Kyiv had started to outline its demands in writing.

"We carefully avoid making statements on the matters" that are discussed at the talks because "we believe that negotiations should take place in silence", he said.

Moscow's lead negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said the talks in Istanbul on Monday were "meaningful".

A defence official at the talks said Russia would significantly reduce its military activity near Ukraine's capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv.

But Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces had later bombarded Chernihiv on Wednesday, despite Moscow's claims.

"Ukraine expressed readiness to fulfil fundamental demands that Russia had insisted on all these past years," Mr Medinsky said in a video on Telegram on Wednesday.

"If all these commitments are fulfilled, the threat of the creation of a Nato base of operations will be liquidated. Work is continuing, talks are continuing.

He said Russia's position on Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2020, and the separatist regions in Donbas in eastern Ukraine "remains unchanged".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is visiting China, said Moscow was pleased with the negotiations.

In a video posted on Twitter by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Mr Lavrov said Ukraine's readiness to refrain from joining Nato was progress, "as well as understanding that the issues of Crimea and Donbas have been settled for good".

Kyiv wants legally binding security guarantees from western countries before it drops its Nato aspirations.

But Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko later denied Mr Lavrov's claims.

"The issues of Crimea and Donbas will be settled for good after Ukraine restores its sovereignty over them," Mr Nikolenko wrote on Twitter.

"During the talks in Istanbul, the Ukrainian delegation presented its proposals on how to achieve this goal."

Mr Lavrov was in China for a ministerial conference of countries neighbouring Afghanistan.

He condemned western sanctions over Moscow's military action in Ukraine.

Mr Lavrov told Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian that Russia would be "arranging practical steps to allow us to go round these unlawful actions", Russian Tass state news agency reported.