The key facts
- Peskov: talks do not mean a ceasefire; Russia needs peace, not an “ordinary deal”
- Putin said the day before that work is underway to settle the Ukrainian conflict
- Lavrov earlier opposed a truce that would give Kyiv the opportunity to restore its strength
Peskov: the goal is peace, not a pause
Press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the American TV channel NBC News that Russia needs a long-term peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, not a temporary truce. According to him, settlement talks in themselves do not mean a ceasefire. “We do not want a ceasefire. We want peace. It cannot be just a deal, an ordinary deal,” — Gazeta.Ru quotes him as saying. Life.ru adds, that, in Peskov's view, Moscow needs not a temporary arrangement that would merely suspend hostilities.
Context of Putin's and Lavrov's statements
The day before, on October 29, Vladimir Putin said that the Russian side is carrying out work on resolving the issues of settling the Ukrainian conflict. Earlier, on October 1, he said that Russia would like to end hostilities as soon as possible through peace talks, called not to blame Moscow for unwillingness to participate in negotiations, and urged Ukraine and its Western partners in Europe to make decisions taking into account “the realities taking shape on the ground.”
The Foreign Ministry's position against a respite
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke out against a truce, which, in his words, would give Kyiv the opportunity to restore its strength and receive new supplies of weapons. He stated that Moscow does not intend to give the Ukrainian side a respite on the battlefield and will continue to pursue the goals of the special military operation, and also noted that Russia no longer intends to rely on promises from the Ukrainian side.
What the statements show in combination
A comparison of the statements shows a consistent line: the Kremlin and the Foreign Ministry separate readiness for talks from readiness for a ceasefire. Peskov frames this as a rejection of a “temporary deal,” while Lavrov earlier explained the rejection by the unwillingness to give Kyiv a respite. At the same time, the statements about work on a settlement remain declarations of the parties' positions: the publications do not report any agreements reached or specific terms of a future peace, so no shift in the negotiation process can be inferred from them.
