Why The Kremlin Is Talking Peace

• Yuri Fedorenko
• 18.11.2025, 11:34

Peskov may already be tuning his gramophone.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Kiev of disrupting the talks and said that Moscow remained open to dialog. They say that at one time the Russian side offered to set up working groups on political, humanitarian and military issues, but Ukraine did not respond to the initiative. Obviously, this refers to the Istanbul negotiating track, where Russia was represented by people who had no mandate to address specific issues.

Remember the news at the time? Given the defiant behavior of the Kremlin representatives during the meeting of the delegations, it could be stated: Moscow was de facto disrupting the negotiation process in the first minutes after its start. Three Istanbul rounds - on May 16, June 2 and July 23 of this year - followed this scenario. The Russian delegation turned the diplomatic summits organized at Washington's suggestion into a farce... And suddenly, Peskov recalls some "working groups" that no one has ever taken seriously. What can this mean?

First of all, Dmitry Peskov, despite all his official regalia, is neither an adviser, nor a diplomat, nor an influential person who decides, proposes or initiates anything. His function is purely technical - to broadcast the opinion of his master, i.e. Putin, to the general public. Secondly, one should not expect that the Kremlin ogres sincerely want peace.

The most likely version is that the military and political leadership of the occupying country realizes that Russia will at some point need a pause to lick its wounds. Peskov's "random phrases" and "reflections" are probably the process of preparing the first sets for a future performance.

It can already be foreseen that the Kremlin's playwrights will try to paint any course of the war as "forcing Kiev to peace." This rhetoric can make an impression only on a zombified domestic audience and is mainly intended for them. But perhaps there is another addressee - the US president, who from time to time surprises the diplomatic community with statements like "Vladimir wants peace."

It is clear that the occupying executioner does not want peace. He is guided by a misanthropic ideology, but there is a small possibility that his motivational complex includes an instinct for self-preservation. If this is the case, then at some point "war-and-peace" rhetoric will be coming out of all Russian irons.

The propaganda machine will turn cries for respite from its crippled soldiers, battered businesses, and disoriented social masses into a "victory march for peace." Perhaps Peskov is already tuning his gramophone: picking up the records, adjusting the timbre and volume.

Whatever way further events unfold, we should remember that no "peaceful" statements by the enemy can be trusted. Even if U.S.-mediated negotiations take place (either in Budapest, Istanbul, or elsewhere), they will be negotiations to put the hot phase on pause at some point. We can talk about a lasting peace if dozens of independent nation-states emerge on the ruins of the evil empire. We are bringing that moment closer - every day of our confrontation is pushing the empire toward the abyss. History is on our side. Glory to Ukraine!

Yury Fedorenko, Facebook