(LONDON) — Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to elaborate on Moscow’s position in the unfolding U.S.-Ukraine negotiations regarding Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor, telling journalists on Tuesday it was “impossible to comment” amid what he called “an information frenzy.”
Russian officials have offered limited reaction to the weekend talks in Geneva, Switzerland, which saw American, European and Ukrainian officials meet to discuss the controversial U.S.-backed peace plan proposal put to Kyiv last week, with terms critics say would have constituted a Ukrainian capitulation.
On Monday, a Ukrainian official close to the matter told ABC News that the original 28-point draft had been revised down to 19 points, with both American and Ukrainian representatives framing the Geneva talks as productive.
Peskov, though, said Tuesday that Moscow could not yet comment. “It’s impossible to comment on every media report right now,” the Kremlin spokesperson said, as quoted by Russia’s state-run Tass news agency.
“I would describe the situation as an information frenzy — there’s no other way to describe it,” he said. “Indeed, a lot of contradictory information is being published, contradictory statements, and so on and so forth.”
Nonetheless, Peskov added that the original U.S. 28-point framework “is currently the only substantive thing.” The Kremlin spokesperson described the proposal as “Trump’s framework.”
“We believe that it could be a very good basis for talks, and this is what our president has stated,” Peskov said. “We will examine it thoroughly when the time comes.”
The initial 28-point American proposal was widely interpreted as favorable to Russia, containing as it did several long-held maximalist Kremlin demands. Among them were that Ukraine cut its armed forces by more than half and cede swaths of territory not yet occupied by Russia.
Ukraine would also be forbidden from possessing long-range weapons, while Moscow would retain virtually all the territory it has occupied — and receive some form of recognition of its 2014 seizure of Crimea under the latest proposed U.S. plan.
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting of his Security Council that the Kremlin had received the 28-point U.S. proposal. “I believe that it could also form the basis for a final peace settlement, but this text has not been discussed with us in detail,” Putin said.
“I believe the reason is the same: the U.S. administration has not yet managed to secure the agreement of the Ukrainian side, as Ukraine is opposed to it,” Putin added. “Apparently, Ukraine and its European allies are still under the illusion that they can inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield.”
The Kremlin’s top foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters on Monday that any proposal would require revision by all parties and that so far no one has discussed it with Russia.
“I would assume that it would be natural to expect the Americans to approach us to meet face-to-face and begin discussions,” he said when asked whether talks between Moscow and Washington on the American plan were expected in the coming weeks.
A U.S. official told ABC News that U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held secret talks on Monday with a Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to follow up on the talks with Ukrainian representatives in Geneva.
Driscoll and his team also met with Ukrainian representatives, a U.S. official told ABC News. “The Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal,” the official said. “There are some minor details to be sorted out but they have agreed to a peace deal.”
A source familiar with the discussions confirmed to ABC News that Ukraine agreed to the new 19-point peace plan during the talks in Geneva, not in Abu Dhabi.
The source added that Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian intelligence, is currently in Abu Dhabi where he is meeting with American officials and might meet with Russian officials as well.
On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in televised comments that Moscow had received the peace proposal “through unofficial channels.” There are, he added, “a number of issues that, of course, need clarification.”
It is not entirely clear how many of the 19 remaining points were included in the initial proposal.
But a Ukrainian source briefed on the matter told ABC News that the updated proposed peace agreement does not include a strict limit on the size of the Ukrainian army and does not include any offer of amnesty for acts committed during the war.
U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at progress in a Monday social media post. “Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine???” he wrote on social media.
“Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening,” Trump added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said Monday that “after Geneva, there are fewer points, no longer 28, and a lot of the right things have been taken into account in this framework.”
“There is still something to work on together — very difficult — to make a final document, and we need to do everything with dignity,” he added, saying he will discuss “sensitive” issues with Trump.
Rustem Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council and long a prominent member of Kyiv’s negotiating team, suggested in a Tuesday social media post that Zelenskyy could visit Washington, D.C. “at the earliest suitable date in November to complete final steps and make a deal with President Trump.”
Zelenskyy, though, said shortly after that Ukraine and Western negotiators had “coordinated our positions and the priority issues for discussion, as well as some of our next steps and contacts.” The president did not mention a potential trip to Washington.
“We see many prospects that can make the path to peace real,” Zelenskyy said. “There are significant results, and much work lies ahead.”
ABC News’ Luis Martinez, Patrick Reevell and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
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