Russia Invites Zelenskyy to Moscow for Peace Talks, Guarantees His Safety

New Delhi: Russia has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Moscow for peace talks, in an effort to end the four-year-long war that has been raging between both the countries. The development was confirmed by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday, days after the two warring nations and the United States (US) held their first-ever trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi.

"We are talking about Moscow at this point," Peskov told Russian state-owned news agency TASS. "In diplomatic language, any other speculations are moot," he added.

Reports about peace talks have been making rounds for the last few days. Earlier on Wednesday, Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov said that Russia has invited Zelenskyy to Moscow if the latter is interested in a meeting. "In that case, we will guarantee his safety and the necessary conditions for his work," Ushakov was quoted by Russia Today quoted as saying.

Reuters quoted a United States official saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy may be moving towards a peace deal. This comes as US-led mediations are still on and another round of talks between the three countries, Russia, Ukraine, and the US, are scheduled for Sunday, in Abu Dhabi.

Has Kyiv Accepted Moscow’s Invitation?

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that they have not received any response on the proposed peace talks in Moscow from Zelenskyy. This may be because Zelenskyy cannot be seen to be visiting a hostile country, especially one that has been attacking his country every day, for the last four years. Zelenskyy had also rejected a similar such invitation last year. Peskov suggested, that given this scenario, Putin should visit Kyiv.

How Has Kremlin Responded to Zelenskyy's Probable Visit to Moscow?

Kremlin Foreign Policy aide Yuri Ushakov said that it would require a good amount of preparation if Russia has to plan Zelenskyy’s visit to Moscow. Zelenskyy’s security should be assured given the hostile relations between the two countries.

Russian Drone Attacks Still On

Kremlin's invitation to Zelenskyy comes at a time when Russian drone attacks on Ukraine are still on. Recently, three people were killed in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region. Zelenskyy has even warned of another round of drone attacks from Russia, despite the trilateral peace talks scheduled for the weekend.

Meanwhile, according to a Washington Post report, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had once again rejected any bilateral security agreement between the United States and Ukraine. This was a key condition for Kyiv to sign the peace deal. Lavrov maintained that "such security guarantees are unlikely to ensure lasting peace.”

What About Trump's 20-Point Peace Plan

Earlier in January, US President Donald Trump had grabbed headlines for brokering a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. However, the 20-Point Peace Plan hit a roadblock as the Russian Foreign Ministry rejected the deal, labelling the the protection plan offered to Ukraine, as part of the deal, a “a true axis of war.”

Moscow’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had reasoned that the security assurances for Ukraine will not lead to lasting peace. 

“The document turned out to be extremely far from a peace settlement. The declaration is not aimed at achieving a lasting peace and security but rather at continuing the militarization, escalation and further conflict aggravation,” it had said, adding, “Its core element is the deployment of ‘a multinational force’ on Ukrainian territory that the coalition will have to form to contribute to the ‘rebuilding’ of the Ukrainian armed forces and ‘support deterrence’ following the cessation of the hostilities.”

Russia also rejected the continuance of Trump’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), which allows Europe to buy US-made weapons to defend Ukraine from foreign attack. Ukraine, on the other hand, had insisted on a five-point security guarantees from the US and has even requested it to extend these guarantees for more than a decade. 

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