Russia dismisses New Year, Christmas ceasefire talks, urges addressing root causes of conflict

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Moscow focused on peace initiatives focused on eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict.

Responding to an Anadolu question at a press briefing in Moscow about a possibility of a ceasefire amid Christmas and New Year holidays, Zakharova said Russia's peacekeeping efforts and initiatives "are well known."

"We have long stated, with facts in hand, that in order to establish peace, it is precisely the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict that must be eliminated, and 'support for the criminal, corrupt terrorist Kyiv regime' must cease. The sooner this is understood, the sooner a settlement will be reached," she said.

The spokeswoman stressed that if this happens "before the New Year, on the New Year, or on Christmas, it can only be welcomed."

"But all the talk about some kind of, you know, elements of a ceasefire, which are obviously not of the nature of a long-term settlement but, on the contrary, camouflage a desire to continue violence and cover up terrorist acts, is of no use to anyone," she said.

Zakharova alleged that "those who pay out money for the conflict" and receive profit from it might want a short ceasefire.

"But not those who are genuinely oriented toward peace. And we certainly count ourselves in that category. We don't need such 'pacifiers,'" she said.