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The Kremlin said Tuesday that Russia is grateful to Türkiye for its continued efforts to support a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war, expressing willingness to move forward with diplomatic negotiations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a briefing that Ankara continues to play a constructive role in mediation efforts, adding, “The Turkish side continues to offer its services, and we are grateful to our Turkish friends for this. We are ready to provide all the conditions for continuing the negotiation process.”
His remarks followed a phone call on Monday between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders discussed the over three-and-a-half-year war, along with broader regional and global issues, according to a statement from Türkiye’s Communications Directorate.
During the conversation, Erdogan emphasized that Ankara would continue its efforts to ensure the war ends with a just and lasting peace. He also reaffirmed Türkiye’s readiness to support diplomatic initiatives that facilitate direct dialogue between the warring sides.
Since the early weeks of the war, Türkiye has hosted multiple rounds of high-level negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, including three rounds in Istanbul this year. Those talks produced significant outcomes, such as prisoner exchanges and draft memoranda outlining each side’s vision for a potential peace settlement.
Ankara first arranged Russia-Ukraine talks in 2022, and later brokered the Black Sea grain deal to facilitate the export of grain and fertilizers from Ukrainian ports amid the war. Russia suspended its participation in July 2023.
Commenting on recent developments, Peskov said Moscow had not yet received an updated version of a proposed peace plan reportedly drafted by the United States. He added that the original document was partially based on understandings reached during the summit between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska earlier this year.
“We believe the document could become a very good basis for negotiations,” Peskov said, underlining Russia’s preference for achieving its objectives in Ukraine through diplomatic means. He also stressed the importance of European involvement in any future security architecture.
“Naturally, discussing a security system in Europe—and it's difficult to talk about security guarantees without a security system as a whole—is practically impossible without the participation of Europeans. At some point, this will certainly be necessary,” he said.
Peskov noted that the Kremlin is monitoring media reports about contacts between Russian and U.S. officials in Abu Dhabi but said there had been no confirmed developments.
His comments followed a Financial Times report that U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll had arrived in the UAE capital on Monday to meet with Kyrylo Budanov, chief of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, and a Russian delegation as part of an effort to broker peace.
The report, citing a U.S. official and two individuals familiar with the meetings, said that talks began Monday night and were expected to continue into Tuesday.
The Abu Dhabi discussions came shortly after representatives from the United States, Ukraine, and several European allies met in Geneva on Sunday to review the U.S.-drafted plan.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Monday that “just a couple of points of disagreement” remain in the draft. She added that Trump remains “hopeful and optimistic” that a deal can be reached and reiterated his desire to see an end to the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also addressed the Geneva meetings in a video message Monday, noting that the number of points in the U.S. plan had been reduced from 28 and that many core issues had been addressed. He said that “sensitive” aspects of the plan would be discussed directly with Trump in a future meeting.
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov also weighed in Monday, saying that Moscow expects Washington to initiate formal contact soon regarding the plan. However, he clarified that no firm arrangements for direct talks had been made.
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