Kremlin: Disputed territories are not the only problem

The Kremlin has once again invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Moscow for peace talks, but there has been no response from Kyiv yet. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the invitation stands and that Zelensky's safety would be guaranteed.

The president rejected a similar offer last year and instead suggested that Vladimir Putin travel to Kyiv. Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov stressed that any meeting between the leaders must be thoroughly prepared and focused on concrete results.

Meanwhile, an American source told Axios that following recent Washington-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi, the two presidents are "very close" to a face-to-face meeting.

According to the Kremlin, the issue of territory is not the only obstacle to a possible agreement to end the fighting in Ukraine. Ushakov indicated that there are other, unnamed points of contention. According to him, Russia is demanding that the Ukrainian army withdraw from approximately 20 percent of the Donetsk region, which Moscow does not yet control. However, Kyiv refuses to do so, as it does not want to "give" Russia territory that it did not gain through combat.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that US-mediated negotiations are continuing, but described the dispute over territory as "very difficult to resolve."

(reuters, mja)