Russia Downplays Peace Prospects as Talks With U.S. and Ukraine Conclude
The Kremlin maintained its hard line on a Ukraine peace deal, rejecting undisclosed changes proposed by Kyiv and its European allies, as separate US-Russia and US-Ukraine talks wrapped up in Florida. The remarks on December 21 came on the same day that Ukraine accused Russia of abducting civilians from a village in Ukraine's Sumy region and taking about 50 of them across the border into Russia. The situation in the Sumy region remained unclear and details could not immediately be confirmed. In Florida, all sides continued to characterize the various…