Moscow says next move in talks depends on Ukraine

MOSCOW:

The Kremlin told Russians on Friday to rally around President Vladimir Putin and said that what happened next in the negotiations over Ukraine would depend on Kyiv's reaction to this week's talks between the two sides.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that no documents had been agreed with Ukraine at the talks, but that Moscow had told the Ukrainian side how it saw the solution to the war.

Russia invaded Ukraine last week in a move it describes as a "special military operation".

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"The talks that took place were a good opportunity to clearly convey to the Ukrainian side our vision of solving this problem. Going forward, everything will depend on the reaction of the Ukrainian side," Peskov said.

He was speaking after a second round of talks held on Thursday, after which the two sides said they had reached an understanding on the need to create humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians.

Asked about a call by US Senator Lindsey Graham on Twitter for someone in Russia to "take out" Putin, Peskov said it was an example of hysterical Russophobia.

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"Of course, these days not everyone is managing to preserve a sober mind, I would even say a sound mind," he said.

He called for national unity from Russians. "Now is not the time to divide, now is the time for all to unite, be together, and unite of course around our president."