Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday 8 October 2026 that Moscow currently saw no prospects for a diplomatic settlement to the war in Ukraine, saying he agreed with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s assessment that the negotiating track had stalled. Peskov was responding to remarks by Rubio that prospects for reaching a settlement through negotiations did not currently appear to be available.
Moscow remains committed to a comprehensive and sustainable settlement
Asked about the US secretary’s assessment, the Kremlin spokesperson simply confirmed that Moscow agreed with him. Peskov said Russia supported reaching a comprehensive settlement, rather than addressing separate parts of the conflict. He said Moscow wanted a solution leading to a sustainable settlement lasting for many years or decades, instead of arrangements limited to specific sectors or issues.
The Kremlin spokesperson also referred to initiatives put forward by India to help reduce tensions, saying the proposals remained on the table and that Moscow welcomed New Delhi’s efforts. But he said the Indian initiatives addressed specific sectors and, from Russia’s perspective, did not constitute an integrated framework for a settlement.
The Indian initiative under discussion included three points aimed at reducing attacks on energy facilities, maintaining trade routes through the Black Sea and protecting commercial shipping. Asked whether these initiatives could lead to a diplomatic settlement, Peskov said that was unlikely at the current stage.
Kremlin links diplomatic track to Kyiv’s positions
Peskov added that statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed, in the Kremlin’s assessment, that the conditions for launching a diplomatic track were not currently in place. The Russian spokesperson said in September that Moscow was keeping the door to contacts open, although he said at the time that the conditions needed to move towards a peace process had not been met.
Rubio had described the war in an interview with a Greek newspaper as having reached a risky strategic impasse, explaining that such impasses usually end either in a negotiated settlement or in an escalation by one or both sides that could go beyond the existing conflict.
The US secretary said Washington was prepared to play a role in helping reach a diplomatic solution, but noted that previous efforts had not produced the desired result. He linked the stalled negotiating track to Russia’s insistence on full control of the Donetsk region, a condition he said Ukraine considered unacceptable.
US warnings of widening escalation
Rubio warned that the escalation could widen, pointing to the risk of the war’s repercussions spreading to other countries, attacks on ships in the Black Sea and the possibility that Ukraine’s electricity network could come under further strikes during the winter. He also highlighted Ukraine’s growing ability to carry out long-range attacks inside Russia. At a later news conference in Lisbon, Rubio said the US administration would continue trying to facilitate a negotiated settlement to end the war.
But he said the United States did not intend to invest its resources in tracks he described as unproductive if there was no possibility of making progress.
