Kremlin says Western reaction to Putin proposal on Ukraine ‘unconstructive’

The Kremlin said on Saturday that the West has reacted unconstructively to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposals for a new security architecture and peace talks with Ukraine.

“There is a lot of it, a huge amount of it – official reaction, official statements. Of an unconstructive nature,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question about whether there had been an official reaction to Putin’s proposals, Russian news agencies reported.

Putin set out on Friday what he said were Russia’s preconditions for starting peace talks with Ukraine, saying Russia would end the war only if Kyiv agreed to drop its NATO ambitions and hand over four provinces claimed by Moscow – demands Kyiv swiftly rejected as tantamount to surrender.