The Kremlin said on Monday that talks in Davos on Kyiv's peace proposals would achieve nothing as Russia was not participating in the discussions, and Moscow will continue its special military operation in Ukraine until all its goals are achieved.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron and some leaders from the Middle East are scheduled to attend this week's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, putting talks to end conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine at the top of the agenda for the global elite.
According to Swiss Federal Councilor for Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis, delegates from 83 countries are taking part in a meeting of national security advisers on the Ukrainian "peace formula", which is being held in Davos at the initiative of Switzerland and Ukraine on Sunday.
"This is simply talking for the sake of talking," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the Davos discussions on Ukraine.
"This process cannot be aimed at achieving any specific results for the obvious reason — we are not participating. Without our participation, any discussions are devoid of any prospect of any results."
When asked about Russia's position on possible talks with Ukraine, Peskov said Ukraine's own position on outlawing talks with Moscow was "absurd". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has decreed that any talks with Russia are illegal.
"For us, it is preferable to achieve our security objectives through peaceful and diplomatic means," he said.
"But in the face of the impossibility of this — the unwillingness of the collective West and Ukraine to take into account our security considerations, we will continue the special military operation," Peskov said. "We will achieve our goals."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed on Sunday that peace talks would work only when the West stops imposing sanctions on Russia.
But US Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo would start a weeklong visit to Europe and Japan on Tuesday, where he will coordinate with partners on the use of a new Russian sanctions authority that takes aim at financial institutions.
Meanwhile, Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea "in the foreseeable future".
It came as Pyongyang's top diplomat Choe Son-hui arrived in Moscow on Sunday.
The visit is to further discuss agreements reached by the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-un on a space launch facility in the Russian Far East in September, where Putin promised to help Pyongyang build satellites.
"Dialogue at all levels will continue … We look forward to intense and fruitful negotiations," Peskov said.
