Ukrainian presidential advisor: We are ready to talk after Russia left Ukraine

Advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv will talk to Moscow if Russia withdraws from Ukraine.According to a report by Al Jazeera, Mykhailo Podolyak added on Sunday evening in Kyiv: “Russia must leave the territory of Ukraine and then we will be ready to talk.” The adviser to Ukraine’s president also said that capping Russia’s oil price is a positive first step because it would deprive Moscow of funding for the war. The G7 decided on Friday to cap Russian crude oil prices at $60 a barrel, ending months of talks over the new move aimed at hitting Moscow’s main source of income.

The price cap for Russian oil by sea goes into effect on Monday 5 December 2022, or the following days for the coalition that set the price cap, which includes Australia and the members of the G7 and the European Union. In response to this decision, the Kremlin spokesman said that his country does not accept western countries’ cap on Russian oil. Dmitry Peskov stressed: “We will assess the situation. Special preparations have been made for such a cap. We do not accept price caps and we will let you know how the matter will be organized as soon as the assessment is completed.”

Kremlin: Sanctions against Russia hurt Europeans
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that the sanctions against Russia would harm the European economy, especially the German economy. It is unprofessional to remain silent about the negative impact of the sanctions on European countries, Peskov said on Monday evening in Moscow. “I mean the sanctions that the Europeans and the European Union have imposed on us,” said the Kremlin spokesman.

The Kremlin spokesman explained: “This damage is clear and the disadvantages of these sanctions for the German economy are also obvious. This is known to our experts, the experts in Brussels and also those in Berlin”. Chancellor Olaf Schultz wrote in a Foreign Affairs article last week: “Among Putin’s many miscalculations was speculating that invading Ukraine would strain relations between his opponents. In fact, the opposite has happened: the EU and the transatlantic alliance are stronger than ever”.

“Nothing shows this more clearly than the unprecedented economic sanctions that Russia is now facing. It was clear from the beginning of the war that these sanctions would have to remain in place for a long time,” said Scholz. The Russian President must understand that not a single sanction will be lifted if Russia tries to dictate the terms of a peace agreement, the Chancellor continued. Despite Scholz’s claim, Deutsche Welle wrote on Monday: “The European Union has stopped buying Russian crude oil to deprive Moscow of its revenue streams over the Ukraine war. This measure does not affect the Moscow economy as much as the European Union expects.