Europe hindering peace talks with Ukraine: Kremlin

MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Friday that there was a pause in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and accused European countries of hindering a process it said that Moscow remained open to.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "Our negotiators have the opportunity to communicate through channels. But for now, it is probably more accurate to say that there is a pause."

Peskov blamed the pause on Europe. "The Russian side remains ready to pursue the path of peaceful dialogue. But the fact that the Europeans are hindering this is indeed true. This is not a secret to anyone," he said.

Moscow has bridled against proposals by European countries and Britain to provide security guarantees to Ukraine that might involve deploying NATO troops on the ground after any peace settlement, saying it could not accept such a move.