Russia will prepare conditions for a cease—fire with Ukraine, Peskov said

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with TASS that Russia will prepare and hand over to Ukraine a list of conditions for a cease-fire, which may be the first step towards resuming peace talks. This statement was made in the context of questions about a possible meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky, which the Kremlin considers possible only if there are preliminary agreements between the delegations of the parties.

Peskov stressed that work on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict will continue, despite the complexity of the current stage. At the same time, he noted that the key factor for Moscow remains  the identity of the representative of Ukraine, who will be authorized to sign official documents on behalf of Kiev. According to the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, trust in the negotiators plays a crucial role in achieving real results.

Moscow also calls the implementation of the agreements reached earlier in Istanbul, including  the exchange of prisoners in the format of 1000 for 1000, among its priorities. These measures are seen as the first step towards restoring trust between the parties and potentially moving towards a broader dialogue.

Although the specific conditions that Russia intends to set have not yet been disclosed, experts point out that they may include issues of Ukraine's neutral status, demilitarization of certain regions, and security guarantees for the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions.

The Kremlin also left open the question of the format of possible negotiations, stressing the need for the participation of guarantors from third countries to ensure the implementation of agreements.

"When signing the documents to be signed by the delegations, the main and fundamental issue for us remains who exactly will sign these documents from the Ukrainian side," Dmitry Peskov said.

That is, the question of Zelensky's legitimacy remains. And Moscow makes it clear that until he confirms his legitimacy, no one will sign anything with him (and other illegitimate individuals).