MOSCOW (Dispatches) - Russia’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia has criticized what he described as “vague signals” regarding the Ukraine conflict from the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
In an interview with Russia 24 TV on Friday, Nebenzia said Moscow currently finds nothing of interest in communications about the crisis.
“Deal is U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s favorite word; everyone knows that. How this is consistent with Russia’s interests is still unclear,” Nebenzia remarked.
He added that the signals from the incoming U.S. administration offer nothing appealing. “These are some unformed vague signals of readiness for something,” he said.
Nebenzia recalled Putin’s call to fully end the conflict rather than freeze it. “We often hear the word ‘freezing the conflict.’ On December 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin last said clearly and precisely on what terms we are ready to talk about not freezing but ending this conflict, provided that our legitimate security interests are respected. But so far, nothing in the signals of the new U.S. administration indicates that this is something that will be of interest to us,” he stressed.
Trump has promised on several occasions that he could achieve a negotiated settlement of the Ukraine conflict in just one day. Trump has also criticized the U.S. approach to the conflict and described Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky as a “salesman” whose visits to Washington result in multibillion-dollar aid packages.
On December 22, Trump announced that he would wait for a meeting with Putin to resolve the conflict. He also insisted that the conflict would not have occurred had he been in office.
In December, Putin said during a press conference that he was ready to meet and talk with Trump. Earlier, the Russian president outlined conditions for a peaceful resolution, including an immediate ceasefire and readiness for negotiations, if Ukrainian forces withdraw from all Russian territory, including those that joined the country following referendums.
Putin also called on Kyiv to renounce NATO ambitions, demilitarize, and adopt a neutral, non-aligned, and nuclear-weapon-free status. The Russian envoy also noted ongoing talks from the Ukrainian side about potential “arrangements.” However, he questioned the feasibility of such efforts.
“The question is, when Zelensky finally, let’s say, gets around to wanting to sit down at the negotiating table, on which line of military contact will this take place? The further he goes, the worse the conditions will be for him,” Nebenzia said.
On Friday, the Ukrainian Air Force said one person has been killed and four others were injured when Russian drones targeted the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, military and civilian officials said, as Russia launched barrages across the country.
The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defenses shot down 60 out of 93 Russian drones launched at Ukraine since the early hours of Friday.
Moscow’s forces have escalated aerial attacks across Ukraine in recent days, including a New Year’s Day drone attack targeting central Kyiv that killed two people.
In the latest barrage, a truck driver was killed by drone debris, according to Mykola Kalashnyk, acting governor for the Kyiv region.
He said the debris also damaged several houses, injuring four people, including a 16-year-old boy.
The Ukrainian Air Force said that 26 other drones were “lost”, in reference to Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones.