Kremlin rejects Zelenskyy's proposal to start withdrawing Russian troops from Ukraine

Dmitry Peskov, the Russian President's Press Secretary, has said that the Kremlin does not accept President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's proposal to start withdrawing Russian troops from Ukraine on Christmas Day, thus showing its ability to abandon the way of aggression.

Source: Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency RIA Novosti

Quote from Peskov: "This (Zelenskyy's proposal to withdraw Russian troops – ed.) is out of the question."

Details: Peskov said that "the Ukrainian side needs to accept the realities that have developed over all this time".

According to Peskov, the Kremlin believes that "these are the realities that have occurred because of the position and the policy that have been pursued over the past fifteen or even twenty years by the Ukrainian leadership and the current Ukrainian regime".

Peskov stated that "these realities indicate that new subjects have appeared in the Russian Federation, and they appeared as a result of the referendums that took place in these territories". "Without taking into account these new realities, any progress is impossible," Peskov said.

Background: 

• On 12 December, in an address to the leaders of the G7, Zelenskyy stated that Russia could start withdrawing its troops from the territory of Ukraine on Christmas Day and thus show its ability to abandon the way of aggression. "We offer Russia an opportunity to make a real, meaningful step towards diplomatic settlement [of this conflict - ed.], which is so often discussed in Moscow. The holidays are ahead, celebrated by billions of people around the world: Christmas of the Gregorian calendar, New Year, Christmas of the Julian calendar. This is the time when normal people think about peace, not about aggression. I offer Russia the opportunity to at least try to demonstrate that they can abandon the way of aggression. It would be a right step to start withdrawing troops from internationally recognised borders of Ukraine this Christmas", said Zelenskyy.
• According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), despite various statements, the Kremlin still wants to achieve maximalist goals in the war against Ukraine.

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