Kremlin Says No Consistency in Ukraine’s Stance at Negotiations

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - There is no consistency in Ukraine’s stance at the negotiations with Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, adding that Kiev often changes its position.

"I also want to recall President [Vladimir Putin’s] statement that, unfortunately, the Ukrainian side does not demonstrate much consistency in terms of the agreed points [during talks]. The position changes frequently. Of course, the dynamics of progress in the negotiation process leaves much to be desired. But the military operation continues," Peskov told reporters.

The information about what countries have agreed to pay for Russian gas in rubles is unlikely to be made public, Dmitry Peskov said.

"Such information is hardly subject to publication, and both our relevant departments and relevant Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak are engaged in this, he spoke about this at the end of last week, and, of course, first of all, Gazprom with its counterparts ... buyers. It has already been said that payment will be sometime in May for these deliveries, which began after the presidential decree goes into effect, so there is still some time," Peskov told reporters.

On 24 February, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. Russia said that the aim of its special operation is to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine.

In response to Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, the European Union announced its intention to reduce dependence on Russian energy supplies in the foreseeable future.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on 23 March that Russia is transferring payments for gas supplies into rubles for "unfriendly countries."