Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian leadership, told journalists that Moscow is allegedly "ready to come to peace every minute" over Ukraine, while shifting responsibility for the further course of events onto Kyiv. In his words, "the dynamics on the front are known to all experts" and Russia is "moving forward," but, as he put it, "that depends on Kyiv. That is the reality." The statement came against the backdrop of a visit to Moscow by special representatives of the US president, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who spent about three hours in talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on September 5.
"Readiness for peace" and shifting responsibility
The key emphasis in Peskov's remarks is that the initiative and the possibility of a peaceful settlement, according to the Kremlin, lie exclusively in Kyiv's hands. The formulation "we are moving forward, but we are ready to come to peace every minute" combines two mutually contradictory messages: on the one hand, an assertion of an ongoing military offensive, and on the other, a declaration of readiness for negotiations. In this framing, in effect, the entire responsibility for the absence of peace is transferred to the Ukrainian side, which is characteristic of the aggressor country's rhetoric in recent months.
Awaiting the resumption of trilateral talks
In addition to statements about "readiness for peace," Peskov said that Moscow hopes for the resumption of talks in a trilateral format — with the participation of Russia, Ukraine, and the US. In his words, the American negotiators "spend a lot of time and effort" during their visits to Moscow and Kyiv, and the Kremlin "hopes that certain shifts will emerge in this regard." Thus, the Kremlin is publicly registering its interest in continuing the diplomatic track, which, by its own assessment, has not yet yielded concrete results.
Context: the Witkoff and Kushner visit to the Kremlin
It is worth recalling that on Saturday, September 5, special representatives of the US president Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow for talks with the Russian leadership. The meeting at the Kremlin lasted about three hours; at the beginning of the conversation, Putin stated that the situation in Ukraine is "complicated." On the eve of the statements about "readiness for peace," Peskov also reported that Russia allegedly "highly values" the peace efforts of the American side, and that the Russian leader personally thanked US president Donald Trump for his pursuit of peace. The totality of these statements indicates that the Kremlin is trying to use diplomatic contact with Washington as a tool of pressure on Kyiv.
Contradictory data
Peskov's declarative "peaceful" rhetoric stands in notable contradiction both to his own words about "moving forward" on the front and to earlier statements by the same spokesperson. Thus, at the end of July, Peskov claimed in an interview that "Kyiv is attacking the entire world — from Germany to Kazakhstan," and stated that Kyiv "opened Pandora's box" and "will feel the answers every night." Between the aggressive rhetoric of July and the "readiness for peace every minute" of September lies a significant gap, which in itself demonstrates the inconsistency of Moscow's position. Moreover, the claim that peace "depends on Kyiv" is not supported by any specific proposals or conditions from Russia, leaving room to interpret these statements as purely propagandistic.
What this means for Kyiv
For the Ukrainian side, such Kremlin statements amount to an attempt to shape a foreign-policy narrative in which Kyiv is portrayed as the side "sabotaging" peace. At the same time, the provided materials contain no information about specific conditions that Moscow is allegedly ready to discuss, or about Kyiv's reaction to Peskov's words. Thus, Russia's public "readiness for peace" remains, for now, a declaration not backed by verifiable steps, and the real development of the diplomatic track will depend on the outcome of the trilateral contacts, which, according to Peskov himself, still need to be resumed.
