Russia is maintaining working-level contacts with the United States and hopes Washington’s efforts to broker peace in Ukraine will succeed, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, while also signalling that Moscow would closely monitor the outcome of the NATO summit in Ankara.Speaking after US President Donald Trump said on Monday that a resolution to a more than four-year war in Ukraine was “getting closer than people realize”, Peskov said Russia remained engaged with Washington. According to Reuters, Kremlin said, “We are maintaining contacts with US administration, hope their efforts to achieve peace will be successful.” He further said Moscow believed a return to diplomacy remained possible, but placed the responsibility on Kyiv’s leadership, “Return to peaceful trajectory is possible when Kyiv shows good will.”Kremlin spokesperson’s remarks came as NATO leaders gathered in Ankara on Tuesday, where they are expected to unveil arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars aimed at demonstrating that European allies are responding to longstanding US calls to increase defence spending, Reuters reported. The leaders are also due to join Trump for the summit.Commenting on the alliance’s meeting, the Kremlin said it would be watching developments closely, “Will follow the developments very closely.” Peskov also criticised the rhetoric ahead of the summit, saying Moscow had taken note of comments made by NATO members before the meeting.”Unfortunately some confrontational statements about Russia were made ahead of the summit.” The comments come as the war in Ukraine continues with fighting along multiple fronts. Russia also claimed it had made further gains on the battlefield, “Russia made strategic achievement taking control of Kostiantynivka, continues to create buffer zones.”Trump’s latest comments suggesting that an end to the conflict was closer than widely believed came after he spoke over the weekend with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, he gave no details to support his assertion that a resolution was near. Hours later, Russia launched missiles and drones at Kyiv and the surrounding region, killing at least 28 people. Later, Peskov said Washington’s position on ending the conflict remained unchanged, while Zelenskyy told the Financial Times that he believed Trump now viewed the war differently following recent Ukrainian successes.
