Kremlin: ‘Negotiations with Kyiv are not essential’

The Kremlin said today that negotiations with Kyiv were not “substantial” enough, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready for “compromises”, which he would put to a referendum.

“There was a process (of negotiations), but we would like it to be more active, more substantial,” said Dmitry Peshkov, a Kremlin spokesman.

Peshkov declined to comment on what exactly the Russian and Ukrainian delegations were discussing, saying that “if the issues are made public at this time, the negotiation process, which is already slow and less substantial than it should be, can be hampered. we wanted “.

The Kremlin spokesman also dismissed US warnings that Moscow might be preparing for a cyber-attack in response to Western sanctions, and said Russia was not committing “criminal activity.”

US President Joe Biden on Monday called on US companies to protect themselves from any cyber-attacks launched by Russia.

“My government reiterates its warning, based on intelligence data, that the Russian state is considering various” possible cyber-attacks, “the White House said in a statement issued by the White House.

A Kremlin spokesman told reporters: “Unlike many Western countries, including the United States, the Russian Federation does not engage in state criminal activity.”

Russia had denied in February that it was responsible for cyberattacks on Ukrainian government service websites and banks.

Anne Neuberger, a senior White House official in charge of cybersecurity, said the US government had seen some “preliminary” Russian activity targeting various US companies, but stressed that “there is no certainty” that such an attack would take place.

For its part, the cybersecurity service of the Russian telecommunications company Rostelecom pointed out that the attempts to disrupt the operation of the websites of various companies have intensified this month.