Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has indicated Ukraine's willingness to engage in peace talks following the U.S. decision to pause military aid, amid diplomatic tensions highlighted by a contentious meeting at the White House involving President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. The meeting, which failed to finalize a key minerals agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine, has been portrayed by Russian officials and media as a sign of fragmentation within the Western alliance. Despite these diplomatic challenges, discussions on the minerals agreement continue, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasizing ongoing efforts to sustain economic cooperation between the two nations.
Posts tagged as “Dimtry Peskov”
On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that there has been contact between the U.S. and Russia regarding a possible prisoner swap involving Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, both of whom are considered "wrongfully detained." The same day, the U.S. ambassador to Russia met with Gershkovich in Moscow, and Peskov said that any discussions about a prisoner swap must be kept in complete silence. It is unclear if the two countries have made any progress in their negotiations.
On Monday, the ruble reached a 14-month low after an aborted weekend mutiny in Russia led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of Russia's Wagner mercenary group. The rebellion was ended after the Kremlin made an agreement to send Prigozhin to Belarus, and pardon him and his soldiers, brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Former U.S. director of national intelligence James Clapper said the deal appears "fishy," raising concerns about stability in the nuclear-armed country.
The United States has denied any involvement in a purported drone attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin, with John Kirby from the National Security Council stating that "Mr. Peskov is lying." Former intelligence officers, diplomats, military officials and analysts have expressed skepticism about Russia's narrative, and unnamed U.S. officials are working to determine whether the attack was orchestrated by Kyiv or a pro-Ukraine rogue group, or a false flag operation by the Kremlin. NBC News has viewed two videos of the incident, and the investigation is ongoing.
The US has accused China of attempting to surveil sensitive military sites via a balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina, and Russia has accused the US of being the "primary source" of international tensions for supporting Ukrainian attacks on Crimea. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Kremlin spokesman Dimtry Peskov have both made comments in response to the situation, and the US has taken measures to protect the information. It remains to be seen how the two countries will move forward in the coming weeks.