The only reason Ukraine will not negotiate a settlement to end the war with Russia is because Kyiv wants to please Western nations, Maria Zakharova has claimed.

Zakharova is the spokesperson for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is currently under sanctions from the US and the European Union. She has been described by Washington as a “high-profile purveyor” of Russia’s disinformation and a “loyal propagandist in service to the Kremlin.”

Speaking at the 26th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum  (SPIEF) on 15 June, Zakharova claimed that Ukraine had “forbidden itself to negotiate.” 

"The Kyiv regime is persistently and fundamentally rejecting any possibility of negotiations in order to please the West," she told gathered reporters at SPIEF. “The Kyiv regime has itself blocked all opportunities for negotiations at the legislative level. I am not sure that there is any precedent in the world when any regime, any ruling elite has forbidden itself to negotiate with anyone else, but this happened in Ukraine.”

Since the start of the war, numerous peace plans have been proposed to Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. While Russia has claimed to be open to negotiations, Ukraine has maintained that it will not cede any territory to Moscow. Kyiv has rejected plans proposed by China, Indonesia and Mexico, and knocked back a suggestion from Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that Ukraine should give up Crimea. Ukraine has also stated that any peace plan must include international guarantees of military support, as well as significant reparations.

In the same press conference, Zakharova made a number of claims, including the outlandish accusation that Ukraine is turning "into one of the world's hubs of black transplants,” and is prepared to pay for Western weapons “with anything… even human organs of its own citizens.”

“One day Ukraine will probably realise what it was really needed for by its American, European friends. It will probably not be in time, but better late than never," she said. “The country has become a gold mine for criminals.”

The foreign ministry spokesperson also touched on the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, in Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast. On June 6, an explosion  inflicted severe damage to the central section of the dam, resulting in uncontrolled water flow downstream. This has led to extensive flooding, loss of life and the displacement of thousands of people. The international community has blamed Russia for the dam's destruction, but Moscow has claimed that it was attacked by Ukraine. According to Zakharova, Ukraine is rejecting attempts by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to set up an independent international commission into the causes of the dam’s destruction.

"The Zelenskiy regime is trying to imitate an investigation into the destruction [of the dam],” she claimed. They have boorishly dismissed the Turkish President's initiative to set up an international commission.”