Russia is willing to work with President-elect Donald Trump to help improve relations with Ukraine as long as the United States takes the first step, Kremlin officials said this week, adding new impetus to the possibility of peace talks during its war. in Ukraine threatens to continue. to a third year.
Speaking to reporters Thursday in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated that Russia might be willing to come to the negotiating table over its “special military operation” in Ukraine, echoing the phrase used by the Kremlin to describe its war in Ukraine, as long as the United States acted first.
“If the signals coming from the new team in Washington to reestablish the dialogue that Washington interrupted after the start of a special military operation [the war in Ukraine] They are serious, of course, we will respond to them,” Lavrov said in Moscow.
But he stressed that the United States should act first, telling reporters that “the Americans broke off the dialogue, so they should take the first step.”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers an annual address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in Moscow’s Gostiny Dvor in February. (Photo by Kremlin Press Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
His comments come after Trump’s choice for envoy to Ukraine, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, he told Fox News in an interview this month that both Russia and Ukraine appear willing to negotiate an end to the war, citing heavy casualties, damage to critical infrastructure and a general sense of exhaustion that has permeated both countries as the war drags on beyond the thousand days .
“I think both sides are ready,” Kellogg said in the interview. “After a thousand days of war, with 350,000, 400,000 Russians [soldiers] down and 150,000 Ukrainians dead, or numbers like that, both sides are saying, ‘Okay, maybe this is the time and we should take a step back.'”
To date, Russia has lost tens of thousands of soldiers in the war. As of this fall, an average of 1,200 soldiers were killed or wounded per day, according to U.S. estimates.
In Ukraine, the country’s energy infrastructure has suffered extreme damage as a result of a prolonged Russian bombing campaign, designed to collapse parts of the power grid, plunge the country into darkness, and ultimately wear down the resolve of the Ukrainian people.
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Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg speaks during a press conference at the White House in 2020. ((Drew Angerer/Getty Images))
Most recently, Russia launched a Christmas Day bombing raid on Ukraine’s power grid, directing some 70 ballistic and cruise missiles and 100 attack drones to attack critical energy infrastructure in the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Christmas Day date was a “deliberate” choice by Putin. “What could be more inhumane?” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military has lost about 40% of the territory it seized in Russia’s Kursk region, a loss that could further erode morale.
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The ruins of the city of Toretsk are located in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine on December 19, 2024. (Photo by Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Lavrov’s comments also come as Kellogg prepares to travel to Ukraine in January for what he described to Fox News as an information-gathering trip.
He declined to elaborate on what he will try to accomplish during the visit, saying only that he believes both countries are ready to end the protracted war and that incoming President Trump could serve as an “arbitrator.”
“Think about a cage fight. You have two fighters and they both want to give up. You need a referee to separate them.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he is open to holding peace talks in the third country of Slovakia, citing an offer made by the country’s prime minister during a visit to the Kremlin earlier this week.
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It is unclear whether Ukraine would be willing to hold talks in Slovakia, a country whose leaders have vehemently opposed sending more EU military aid to Ukraine.
Ukraine did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment on the peace talks, or whether it would be open to Slovakia’s host bid.
