Moscow \u2013 Kreml in Senior Adviser Yuri Ushakov has made it clear that no round of peace talks will yield any results until Ukrainian forces are withdrawn from the Donbass region. Speaking to Russian state television journalist Pavel Zarubin, he said, “Without the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbass, a settlement will remain stalled, even after 10 rounds of negotiations.”<\/p>\n
Ushakov expressed confidence that Kyiv will sooner or later come to realise the reality that it must withdraw its forces from Donbass and will do so. “Kyiv will have to understand that it must pull back its troops from Donbass, and it will do so,” he stated.<\/p>\n
The remark reiterates the key condition that Russia has long set for resolving the Ukraine conflict. Russia has repeatedly underscored its claim over Donbass and Crimea, maintaining the stance that Ukraine must renounce its claims over these regions for any peace agreement to be reached.<\/p>\n