Russia remains open to peace talks on Ukraine: Kremlin

Moscow(The Uttam Hindu): Russia remains open to negotiations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, local media reported, citing Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "We maintain our openness," Peskov said on Sunday while speaking about the prospects for a peaceful settlement on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin is consistent in his approach.

Putin and US President Donald Trump agreed on the possibility of negotiations on Ukraine in their telephone conversation earlier this month, Peskov said. Russian and US delegations held talks on Tuesday in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, agreeing to work to end the conflict and improve bilateral ties, Xinhua news agency reported. Earlier in February US President Donald Trump has described the Russia-US talks held in Riyadh as positive, saying that his confidence in the settlement of the Ukraine crisis has grown.

"Much more confident, they were very good," he told reporters on Wednesday after signing a number of his new executive orders in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, TASS reported. "Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the savage barbarianism," he added. Senior US and Russian delegations gathered for talks in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh on Tuesday, as the two sides began an initial round of high-stakes negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

On February 18, Russia and the US held talks in Riyadh, which lasted 4.5 hours. Russia was represented at the meeting by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, presidential aide Yury Ushakov and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) head Kirill Dmitriev.