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We carefully reviewed the statement that US President-elect Donald Trump made after his meeting with President Macron and Vladimir Zelensky in Paris.

The President of Russia has repeatedly said that Russia is open to talks on Ukraine and welcomes peace initiatives coming primarily from the countries of the Global South, our BRICS partners – Brazil, China, India and South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia working on the humanitarian track.

Our stance on Ukraine is well known. The conditions for an immediate stop of hostilities were set out by President Vladimir Putin in his speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry in June of this year.

It is important to recall that it was Ukraine that refused and continues to refuse negotiations. Moreover, by his own decree, Zelensky prohibited himself and his administration to have any contacts with the Russian leadership. They refuse to change their stance. Meanwhile, to enter a peace trajectory, it will suffice for Zelensky to cancel his decree and issue instructions on resuming the dialogue based on the agreements reached in Istanbul and with due account for the current realities on the ground.

As concerns the figures announced with regard to losses on both sides, it is obvious that they were presented in the Ukrainian interpretation and reflect Ukraine’s official position. The actual numbers are completely different. Ukraine’s losses are multiple times higher than those of Russia.

Continuing at the same pace will lead to a complete exhaustion of the Ukrainian army, lowering the draft age to 18, and introducing tougher measures to achieve involuntary mobilisation. And even that will not overturn the disastrous situation in the Ukrainian army. This is no news for Ukraine itself and for international observers.