Moscow accuses Ukraine of obstructing peace discussions

(MENAFN) The Kremlin confirmed on Monday that Russia remains dedicated to honoring the agreements reached with Ukraine during their recent talks in Istanbul, emphasizing that Moscow consistently fulfills its obligations, unlike its counterpart.

At a press conference in Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov criticized Kyiv's explanations for postponing the exchange of prisoners of war and the remains of fallen soldiers, labeling them as unconvincing.

"We've heard countless excuses and justifications, but they're unlikely to be believable," Peskov stated.

Moscow has accused Ukraine of obstructing the prisoner swap and the handover of soldiers’ bodies that were agreed upon in Istanbul last week, asserting that the initial exchange was scheduled for June 7. However, Kyiv announced it would delay the prisoner swap until the following week and has yet to set a date for exchanging the remains.

When questioned about Ukraine’s claim that the timing of the previous exchange was not mutually decided and that Russia had imposed the date unilaterally, Peskov refrained from commenting directly. Instead, he advised attentiveness to the remarks made by Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia’s negotiation team with Ukraine, who, according to Peskov, "answers all your questions there."

The Kremlin official suggested waiting until early next week to see how Ukraine’s stance develops moving forward.

MENAFN11062025000045017281ID1109659471