President Vladimir Putin's administration has announced that Russia favours ending the war in Ukraine as soon as possible, but the peace process is stalled.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that the Russian side prefers a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict. He blamed Ukraine for the stagnation of the negotiations. So far, the last face-to-face talks took place on 23 July.

According to Peskov, Kiev is not interested in resuming the dialogue, European allies are said to support it in continuing military operations. The Kremlin has conditioned an end to the conflict on the fulfillment of its claims. Russia currently controls about 19 percent of Ukrainian territory and continues its offensive, according to Reuters.

Ukraine rejects the accusations, saying Moscow is blocking peace efforts. President Volodymyr Zelensky rejects negotiations in Moscow, saying the Russian side has no serious interest in peace.

(reuters, sie)