Russian dictator Vladimir Putin declared that he was "open to peace negotiations", but Kyiv and the West categorically rejected this appeal "as a deception". Ukraine is ready for a diplomatic end to the war, but considers it unacceptable to give up its own territories. The prospect of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in the near future is unlikely, writes CNN.

 The newspaper notes that Putin's comments about the end of the war were in fact no different from his rhetoric during the full-scale invasion. Demonstrating his "readiness for negotiations", the Russian president refused to mention Ukraine itself as a relevant party to the conflict and continued to prove his proposal with the false pretext that Moscow was allegedly "defending itself with the help of a "special military operation", the article says.

 Ukrainian and American officials, responding to the statement, agreed that Putin "has not shown any signs" that he is ready to sit down at the negotiating table. In particular, Oleksandr Rodnyanskyi, the economic adviser to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, noted that such statements are "an attempt to buy time" to regroup and rebuild their troops.

 Given the success of the Ukrainian military in recent months, the continued support of NATO member states and Kyiv's unequivocal desire to restore and maintain control over its internationally recognized borders, there are no signs that negotiations can end the war in the current phase, writes CNN.

 A decisive turn on the battlefield on New Year's Day could reportedly force a rematch, but both sides are locked in a war that many observers believe could become long and drawn out. And Zelenskyі's visit to the United States, which became the first foreign trip ten months after the invasion, shows the intention to concentrate allies and unite their support in the fight against Russia.

 In an interview with the Associated Press, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, said that Kyiv intends to hold a "peace summit" at the UN in the coming months until the end of February, which it wants to put an end to the war that was decided by Russia.

 He stressed that the aggressor country must appear before the war crimes tribunal before his country can begin direct negotiations with Moscow.