Russia will not begin negotiations until it returns Kursk – The Washington Post.

The Washington Post reports that Russia has intensified its activities to control the occupied part of the Kursk region ahead of negotiations with the administration of new US President Donald Trump.

According to information from The Washington Post, Ukrainian forces, despite losses after the August counteroffensive, still hold their positions in the Kursk region. However, Russia has launched a large-scale counterattack, enlisting up to 10,000 soldiers from North Korea.

'It is clear that Moscow will not conduct any negotiations until it drives Ukrainian soldiers out of Kursk,' said the chief editor of the newspaper 'Independent Newspaper' Konstantin Remchukov, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want Kursk to become a bargaining chip in negotiations.

It is also worth noting that Russia is escalating its rhetoric regarding the possibility of a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov excluded the possibility of freezing the conflict along the current front line, calling such a decision 'even worse' than the obligations outlined in the Minsk agreements.

Earlier, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Sergey Shoigu stated that negotiations with Ukraine are impossible as long as the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not retreat from Russian territory.