Putin's spokesperson Peskov on Zelenskyy's peace proposal plan: 'this is out of question'

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday, Dec 14  responded to Zelenskyy’s peace proposal ahead of Christmas and New year, saying it was “out of the question” to withdraw all Russian troops from the Ukrainian territory. Peskov, in a state press conference, noted that Ukraine's President had to accept “new realities” with regard to the annexed territories, referring to Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. In his previous statements, Kremlin spokesman Peskov had claimed that Kyiv, under no circumstances, wants to come forward for any negotiations. 

'Take into account the realities': Peskov

Zelenskyy reached out to Moscow in an attempt to cease ongoing hostilities, as he presented a three-step proposal for peace. He demanded that Moscow accepts accountability for war crimes on Ukrainian soil. He called for the complete withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukraine’s territory —including from the occupied regions of Donbas and the 2014 annexed Crimean peninsula. He also demanded payment of war reparations and compensation for the rebuilding efforts of his war-ravaged country.

In the video statement to the G7 leaders, Zelenskyy also asked to "preserve this level of solidarity" and support Ukraine next year. He asked Russia to start a "new diplomacy" that involved a peace solution and withdraw troops from Ukraine this Christmas.

"This [Zelenskyy's proposal to withdraw Russian troops] is out of the question," Kremlin spokesman Peskov said. 

In November, Ukraine's leader made a similar proposal, listing at least five conditions to negotiate for peace. Ukraine’s Zelenskyy noted that his regime had also previously attempted peace talks but was answered with more aggression from the Russian Federation. "Anyone who is serious about the climate agenda should also be serious about the need to immediately stop Russian aggression, restore our territorial integrity, and force Russia into real peace negotiations," Zelenskyy said. He then listed five key conditions for the peace talks that might end the conflict. "Once again, restoration of our territorial integrity, respect for the UN Charter, compensation for all damages caused by the war, punishment of every war criminal, and guarantees that this will not happen again," Zelenskyy underscored. 

As the Ukrainian President, once again, proposed a plan, Peskov said at a regular conference call that the Ukrainian side "needs to take into account the realities that have developed over all this time." "And these realities indicate that the Russian Federation has new subjects [the four annexed territories]. Without taking these new realities into account, any progress is impossible," Putin's spokesperson added. He had also earlier rejected the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations, saying it is too early to give an assessment and have a conversation with Zelenskyy for Russia. "We found some points by which we can predict common positions," Peskov said, hitting the deadlock to the negotiations on Ukraine's demand for total troops withdrawal including from the Crimea and Donbass region.