Russia signaled on Tuesday that it remains open to negotiations over the war in Ukraine and views the White House-led framework associated with President Donald Trump as the only “substantive” basis for talks so far – while stressing that Moscow has not yet received the latest, shortened version of the plan via official channels.

Peskov: Russia “fully open” to talks, wants goals via diplomacy

According to TASS, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow is “fully open to the negotiation process” and “interested in achieving our goals precisely through political and diplomatic means.” He added that Russia’s position “has not changed” and has been repeatedly confirmed by President Vladimir Putin, saying: “We consistently adhere to this position.”

In a separate Peskov said the White House framework associated with Trump is, in the Kremlin’s view, “currently the only substantive thing” and “could be a very good basis for talks.” He said Moscow still “holds to this view” and would take up the document “substantively” when the time comes.

However, Peskov stressed that Russia has not been shown the revised version of the plan that White House and Ukrainian negotiators have been working on. He said Moscow is “following media reports and carefully analyzing them,” and understands that “a negotiation process” is underway between the Americans and Ukrainians, with “corrections” being made to the previously published text.

“We understand that the text which we had unofficially earlier has now already undergone changes,” Peskov said, adding that at some point “our contacts with the Americans” will be carried out and Russia would “officially receive some information.” For now, he said, there were “no novelties” for the Kremlin.

Lavrov: Plan came via “unofficial channels” – Anchorage understandings must stay

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that Moscow has obtained Trump’s plan and is prepared to discuss it, TASS reported. “We have it; we received it through unofficial channels. It wasn’t sent to us officially,” he said. “However, just as the president said, we are ready to discuss its content because there are a number of issues that require clarification.”

Lavrov said the White House had not provided the updated version that media reports describe as a reduced, 19-point framework. A Russian official characterized the document reportedly taken from Geneva to Abu Dhabi as an “intermediate version,” according to Ukrainian news magazine Focus, and said Russia is now waiting for a new draft reflecting agreement among the White House, Ukraine and the EU.

Lavrov linked Moscow’s stance directly to the understandings reached at the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska, which Russian officials refer to as the Anchorage summit. He warned that if “the spirit and letter of Anchorage, with the key understandings we recorded there,” were removed from the plan, it would amount to “a fundamentally different situation.”

He argued that some European actors had “failed” in their engagement with the process and complained of “a wave of rumors and speculation” aimed at “discrediting Trump’s peace initiatives.”

Lavrov also criticized what he called “megaphone diplomacy,” pointing to public comments by French President Emmanuel Macron, who described Trump’s plan as “unacceptable” and tantamount to a “surrender to Russia.”

“Serious diplomats discuss such things privately, the way they are supposed to, until a final agreement is reached,” Lavrov said.

From 28 to 19 points: Trump Team and Ukraine narrow framework before showing Moscow

The Kremlin’s comments come after a rapid evolution of the Trump administration’s proposal. On Nov. 23, Team Trump and Kyiv’s delegations met in Geneva, after which the list was reportedly cut to 19 points. A Ukrainian presidential adviser involved in the talks said “some points were removed, some were changed,” and that “final decisions on the most problematic issues will be made by the presidents.”

The revised version is now being relayed to Moscow as part of an ongoing diplomatic sequence. US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held talks with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Monday, in what Ukrainian First Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsya described as a “logical continuation” of efforts to end the war. According to officials cited by US media, the discussions were expected to continue on Tuesday, while Driscoll was also due to meet Ukrainian representatives during his visit.