Kremlin Agrees with Trump on Zelenskiy's Role in Ukraine Peace Talks

Kremlin's Position on Ukraine Peace Talks

MOSCOW, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump that it was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, not Russia, who was holding up a potential peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump's Assessment of Zelenskiy

Trump's assessment in an interview with Reuters contrasted to that of European allies, who have consistently argued that Moscow has little interest in ending the fighting and wants to take as much territory as it can while seeking to stave off further Western sanctions.

Russia's Control in Ukraine

"I think he's ready to make a deal," Trump said of Putin when speaking to Reuters in the Oval Office on Wednesday. "I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal."

Challenges in Negotiations

Asked why U.S.-led negotiations had not yet resolved Europe's largest land conflict since World War Two, Trump responded: "Zelenskiy."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked that he concurred with Trump: "I agree, that is indeed the case. President Putin and the Russian side remain open (to talks). The Russian position is well known. It is well known to the American negotiators, to President Trump, and to the leadership of the Kyiv regime."

Russia controls about a fifth of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014. Moscow wants Kyiv to withdraw its troops from parts of the Donetsk region that Russia does not control but has claimed as its own. Ukraine - which has rejected the idea of gifting territory to Moscow - wants the fighting halted along the current front lines. The U.S. has proposed a free economic zone if Ukraine pulls its troops back. 

U.S.-led negotiations have been centred in recent weeks on security guarantees for a post-war Ukraine after a potential peace deal, though some European officials have cautioned Putin is highly unlikely to accept some of the terms.

The talks have been further set back after Russia accused Ukraine last month of trying to attack a residence of Putin, an allegation Kyiv called a lie. 

Peskov said that Moscow would welcome Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner to the Kremlin for additional talks on Ukraine once a date for a visit had been agreed upon.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; editing by Andrew Osborn )