The Kremlin has rejected U.S. President Joe Biden’s condition for holding bilateral talks—namely, the full withdrawal from Ukrainian territories incorporated by Russia two months ago.
“President Putin was, is, and will be open to contacts for talks,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Dec. 2. “Certainly, the preferred path for securing our interest is peaceful diplomacy.”
He added, however, that the United States “still does not recognize the new territories that joined the Russian Federation, and that makes the search for possible grounds for discussion much more difficult.”
Peskov’s statements came in response to remarks made the previous day by the U.S. president….