Russia sees Zelenskyy's readiness for negotiations ‘positively’

Speaking to reporters in the capital Moscow, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia assessed Zelenskyy’s recent remarks “positively,” but that it was not yet clear who Moscow would negotiate with.

"The question is with whom to sit down. For now, the Ukrainian president's legal ban on holding talks with the Russian side remains in place,” Peskov said, referring to Zelenskyy's 2022 decree banning negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He went on to argue that the “overall approach is positive, but the nuances have not yet changed.”

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, in his first joint address to Congress, said he received a letter from Zelenskyy expressing Kyiv's readiness to come to the negotiating table in pursuit of “lasting peace.”

Later, Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova wrote on Facebook that Trump read out an earlier message by Zelenskyy on X, in which he expressed regret over a public argument at the White House meeting last week, saying it had not gone as planned.

A heated exchange occurred between Zelenskyy, Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the Oval Office on Feb. 28. As Zelenskyy expressed doubt that diplomacy could result in peace, Trump and Vance criticized the Ukrainian leader for not being grateful for US support.