MOSCOW, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Moscow would rather maintain contacts on Ukraine alongside talks on its relations with Washington, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
"It would be much more consistent with our bilateral interests and the interests of the U.S. to pursue these tracks in parallel," Peskov said in an interview with RBC radio.
He also noted that discussions on many key issues on Ukraine, including security guarantees and the future security architecture, would require the participation of the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Marking a sudden shift in the White House's position, Trump later said he believes Kiev, with support from Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), "is in a position to fight and win all of Ukraine back in its original form."
Zelensky said he received "a very positive signal" that the United States will continue supporting Ukraine until the end of the conflict with Russia, the Ukrinform news agency reported Wednesday.
Zelensky noted that the two leaders discussed measures to put pressure on Russia's energy network, as well as the country's financial and banking system. He also said that Ukraine is counting on further U.S. sanctions against Russia.
Commenting on their meeting, Peskov said Trump was influenced by Zelensky's account of what is currently happening, adding that Moscow "could not agree with everything."
The spokesman said Trump demonstrates political will to pursue a settlement on Ukraine, and noted that Russia will convey its position to the United States. He said, however, that a telephone call between Russian and U.S. leaders is not currently planned.
"We will also have the opportunity to convey our position to the U.S. side, and this will be done by our Foreign Minister (Sergey) Lavrov, who will meet with his counterpart in New York on the sidelines of the General Assembly," Peskov said.
Russia remains an integral part of Europe's security, Peskov further said, and "any talk of security without Russia or at Russia's expense is, at the very least, unfounded." He also said that this would be "dangerous and unacceptable" for Moscow.
He also said Kiev hasn't responded to Russia's initiative proposed in July on the creation of three working groups with Ukraine. ■
