A high-stakes joint peace initiative between Russia and the United States regarding the war in Ukraine has hit a standstill, according to Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoygu. Speaking Thursday at the International Security Forum in the Moscow region, Shoygu placed the blame squarely on Ukraine, claiming the effort is actively "stalling."

The senior Russian official argued that the primary bottleneck preventing a breakthrough is a total lack of political willpower from Ukrainian leadership. Shoygu alleged that Kyiv is intentionally avoiding a diplomatic settlement out of fear that its government will be held accountable by its own citizens for the war's devastating domestic consequences, including a severe ongoing demographic crisis, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

In a sharp economic critique, Shoygu further asserted that Ukraine has a financial incentive to prolong the fighting. He argued that because Ukraine’s national budget relies almost entirely on Western war funding and financial assistance, the country's leadership believes the money will dry up if active hostilities come to an end. Pointing to Ukraine's mounting international debt, Shoygu questioned how the nation ever intends to pay back its Western backers.

While Shoygu maintained that Moscow remains open to long-term peaceful settlement proposals, he reiterated that any progress is dependent on Ukraine completely abandoning what he termed its confrontational and anti-Russian state ideology.

The security conference opened with a pre-recorded video address from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who highlighted global threats like nuclear proliferation, extremism, and cybercrime. Notably, forum organizers revealed that representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow attended the event for the first time in years, sitting alongside visiting delegations from Switzerland, Hungary, Israel, and Moldova despite the ongoing diplomatic freeze.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada