Russian envoy says Moscow ready for peace talks with Ukraine

"We want peace, but on certain conditions, of course. For us, two things are important. That there will be no threat from Ukraine to Russia - this is one thing.

And second, that Russians in Ukraine will be treated like all other nations in the world. Like French people are being treated in Belgium, or like Italians and Germans are being treated in Switzerland, not differently. <…> That’s a grave violation of the Human Rights Declaration and of all documentation," Kelin said, as he described the developments in Ukraine in recent years as "extreme nationalism."

According to Kelin, Russia’s current military purpose is to liberate the Donbas from the occupation. He dismissed thinking that Ukraine may prevail as "a big idealistic mistake," TASS reported.

"We can make peace tomorrow if the Ukrainian side is prepared to negotiate, but at the moment there are no preconditions for that, I am afraid because the president of Ukraine has prohibited any negotiations," the Russian diplomat maintained, adding that he didn’t believe that simply freezing the conflict was a good idea.

"It will not make a platform for a stable and long-term peace in Europe," Kelin explained.

The envoy reiterated the Russian nuclear doctrine does not envisage using nukes in the conflict in Ukraine. However, Kelin said that he was worried about a continued escalation of the conflict as he referred to weapons supplies to Kyiv currently being ramped up.