Kremlin signals before Lavrov-Rubio meeting that its stance on Ukraine peace talks remains unchanged

The Kremlin ​said on Wednesday that there ​were still no ‌grounds ​for Ukraine peace talks to take place even though it remained ‌open to such talks. Speaking ahead of a planned meeting in New York between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ‌and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, it also said ‌that there were no concrete plans for high-level meetings with either Washington or Kyiv to discuss a potential peace deal.

Kremlin spokesman ⁠Dmitry ​Peskov said ⁠that Russia's stance on the possibility of President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's ⁠Volodymyr Zelenskiy meeting in person had not changed either. "Zelenskiy, ​if he wishes, may come to Moscow. The ⁠necessary security guarantees will be provided to him," said Peskov, adding that ⁠the ​Ukrainian president was aware of what decisions - from Moscow's point of view - he needed to take.

The ⁠Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly said that a meeting in Moscow ⁠would ⁠not be acceptable and have proposed holding direct talks in a neutral country.