Senior Russian official says diplomatic settlement with Ukraine ‘not apparent’

MOSCOW (AA) – Prospects for a diplomatic settlement with Ukraine “are not apparent today,” a senior Russian diplomat said on the first anniversary of the military conflict between Moscow and Kyiv.

Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin has called Kyiv’s “dependence in decision-making” a problem in holding dialogue.

He said the peace process that started last year was interrupted by Ukraine “at the insistence of Washington, London and Brussels.”

According to his assessment, “the Anglo-Saxons are doing everything possible to make the war in Ukraine as bloody as possible and to prevent any substantive negotiations on a peaceful settlement.”

“If the West and Kyiv want to sit down at the negotiating table, they must first of all stop shelling Russian cities and lay down their arms. After that, it will be possible to conduct a discussion on the basis of new geopolitical realities,” the diplomat said.

Asked about the establishment of a safe zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Galuzin said talks are ongoing, and it would be “premature” to make any details public.

“The dialogue on the zone is not easy to develop, but its main goal is defined — to do everything necessary to prevent Ukrainian attacks on the station and prevent an emergency, especially a man-made disaster with unpredictable consequences,” he said.