Russia’s upper legislative house speaker, Valentina Matviyenko said on Monday (Dec 2) that she is expecting Russia-Ukraine peace talks to resume next year, after US President-elect Donald Trump will take over the US administration.
“I will express my purely personal opinion. I believe that the probability that there will be a real attempt to start such negotiations and meetings in 2025 is significantly higher than the probability that such attempts will not be made,” Matviyenko said in an interview with pro-Kremlin newspaper Argumenty i Fakty.
“We must not and will not make the subject of negotiations any one-day half-measures, agreements of an unclear status, short-term freezes, and so on,” she added.
Russia and Ukraine have not negotiated peace since the first months Russian troops invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
Matviyenko, who is also third in line for the Russian presidency, further accused US President Biden’s administration, which gave Ukraine approval to strike long-range ATACMS missiles into Russia for the first time.
“The leaders of the negotiation process on the other side will have to show certain strong qualities. How ready they’ll be, I don’t know,” she said.
US President Biden reiterated the US’s support for Ukraine after it dealt with a recent “horrific” Russian attack, by launching nearly 200 missiles and drones against Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure.
Moreover, Trump has pledged to end the war swiftly, which has raised concerns that he would try to force Ukraine to accept a deal on Russia’s terms.
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However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted that Ukraine needs security guarantees from NATO and more weapons to defend itself before beginning any negotiations with Moscow.
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(With inputs from agencies)