Russia Finally ‘Ready’ for Ukraine Peace Talks.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday that Moscow is ready for talks on the “post-conflict settlement” of the war in Ukraine.

Shoigu made the remarks at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, China’s largest military diplomacy event, saying that Russia is also ready for talks on further “co-existence” with the West, but said Western countries needed to stop seeking the strategic defeat of his country.

The prospect of peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow have been raised multiple times since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Kremlin has specified a few conditions that are non-negotiable for Russia, including that Ukraine must accept the September 2022 annexation of four of its regions—Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia—following referendums called by Putin that were deemed illegal by the international community.

Ukraine has said that any peace deal must invalidate the September 2022 annexations of its territory, and that the Crimean Peninsula, which Putin annexed in 2014, must once again be considered part of Ukraine.

“In case the necessary conditions are created, we remain ready for political discussions on a realistic basis —both on the post-conflict resolution of the Ukrainian crisis, and on the parameters of further coexistence with the West as a whole,” Shoigu said, speaking at the 10th Xiangshan Forum, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

“It is important to ensure equal relations between all nuclear powers—permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, which bear special responsibility for maintaining peace and global stability,” said Shoigu.

“In order to form a fair, multipolar world order, it is necessary to update the international security architecture and give it greater stability. To do this, it is necessary to unite the efforts of all interested countries,” he added.

Newsweek has contacted Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry for comment via email.

Shoigu also warned of the possibility of a clash between nuclear powers.

The U.S. and NATO continue “to try to undermine Russia’s security and deprive us of the will to resist,” the defense minister said, as he accused the West of attempting to expand the war in Ukraine to the Asia-Pacific, claiming an increasing NATO military presence in the region.

The West’s support for Ukraine shows that it is seeking a “strategic defeat of Russia,” Shoigu said.

“The Western line of steady escalation of the conflict with Russia carries the threat of a direct military clash between nuclear powers,” he said, adding that should this happen, it would be “fraught with catastrophic consequences.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky put forward his 10-step “peace formula” for the war in his country in November 2022, saying during a virtual address to world leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, that the “Russian destructive war must and can be stopped.”

The 10 steps he outlined were: radiation and nuclear safety; food security; energy security; release of all prisoners and deported persons; implementation of the UN Charter and restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the world order; withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities; restoration of justice; countering ecocide; preventing escalation; and finally, confirmation of the end of the war.

The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected the 10-point peace plan, and has said there can be no peace deal “that does not take into account today’s realities regarding Russian territory, with the entry of four regions into Russia.”