Kremlin says it will create wider security zone with Ukraine

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said that Russia will expand a so-called "buffer zone" with Ukraine amid what he described as escalation.

Source: Peskov, as quoted by Russian media outlet Interfax

Details: He once again claimed that Russia "remains open to achieving its goals through peaceful political and diplomatic negotiations", and that Putin "maintains his openness".

Meanwhile, Peskov added that Russia will expand the "buffer zone".

Quote: "As the Kyiv side attempts to escalate, we continue to create a wider security zone, a buffer zone."

Background:

• On 9 July, Peskov said that the administration of US President Donald Trump is mistaken if it believes that strikes on Russian territory would help bring the war to a peaceful end.
• During his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday, Trump said that Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries are an escalation that could help bring the war to an end.

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