Star Metro - Russia says claims over annexed Ukraine regions key to peace

Since launching its Ukraine offensive in February 2022, Russia has seized large parts of four Ukrainian regions and claimed them as its own, in addition to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

Ukraine has denounced the annexations as an illegal land grab and says it will never recognise them, while European officials have warned that accepting Moscow's demands set a dangerous precedent that could lead to future Russian aggression.

The comments came as US President Donald Trump pushed Russia to accept a ceasefire, telling reporters on Sunday he believed Volodymyr Zelensky might concede Crimea as part of a settlement -- a suggestion the Ukrainian leader has previously balked at.

"The Russian side has repeatedly confirmed its readiness, as confirmed by the president, to begin negotiations with Ukraine without any preconditions," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state media on Monday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Brazilian newspaper O Globo published Monday that "We remain open to negotiations."

"But the ball is not in our court. So far, Kyiv has not demonstrated its ability to negotiate," he said, adding Moscow's position on the conflict was "well-known".

"International recognition of Russia's ownership of Crimea, Sevastopol, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Lugansk People's Republic, the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions is imperative," he said, using the Kremlin's names for the Ukrainian regions.

Russia has repeatedly set out it demands for a Ukraine settlement, including that it be allowed to keep the five Ukrainian regions it claims as its own, that Ukraine be barred from the NATO military alliance and that the country "demilitarise".

Zelensky said last Friday that Ukraine would "not legally recognise any temporarily occupied territories", and has previously called the demilitarisation demand "incomprehensible".

- 'We're close' -

Trump, who boasted before his inauguration he could halt Russia's assault on Ukraine within "24 hours", launched a diplomatic offensive to stop the fighting after taking office in January.

But he has so far failed to extract any major concessions from Russia, which has kept up its attacks on Ukraine unabated.

After meeting Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral, Trump upped his pressure on Vladimir Putin, telling his Russian counterpart to "stop shooting" and sign an agreement.

The White House has said that without rapid progress, it could walk away from its role as a broker. Trump indicated that he would give the process "two weeks."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier Sunday stressed the importance of the week ahead.

"We're close, but we're not close enough" to a deal to halt the fighting, Rubio told broadcaster NBC. "I think this is going to be a very critical week."

US envoy Steve Witkoff held a three-hour meeting with Putin in the Kremlin last week, where they discussed the possibility of direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow.

But there is still frustration in the White House with both sides, as the conflict, which has devastated swathes of eastern Ukraine and killed tens of thousands of people, drags on.

Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks on the fighting since the start of Moscow's offensive in 2022.

Early Monday morning, a Russian attack on a Ukrainian village near the frontline city of Pokrovsk killed a married couple and another local resident, regional prosecutors said.

Meanwhile, Russia over the weekend announced it had taken full control of its Kursk region with the help of North Korean troops, more than eight months after Kyiv launched a cross-border ground assault.

Putin thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday for help with the operation, which has denied Kyiv a key bargaining chip in future talks with Moscow.

The Russian army said Monday it had taken control of the village of Kamianka in the northeastern Kharkiv region, in its latest battlefield advance.

W.Richard--SMC