The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the reduction of Western military aid to Ukraine “it is not related to the possibility of peace talks between Moscow and Kiev”.

“This is not connected in any way,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a news conference when asked if there was a proposal from Ukraine to hold peace talks as part of a reduction in Western military aid to Kiev.

Peskov also said that at the moment the major issue for Moscow is to achieve the goals regarding the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Of course, it is preferable to achieve these goals through political and diplomatic means. And when the West and the Ukrainians reject these methods, then the “special military operation” (the war in Ukraine) continues,” Peskov added.

Referring to the digital summit of the G-7, the world’s seven most powerful economies, Peskov said Moscow “will be watching it closely.”

He went on to say that the issue of Ukraine may also be on the agenda of the meeting according to the Anatoli agency.

“You see how difficult the situation is now related to the continued availability of financial resources. Ukrainians are clearly in a difficult situation, so it is not easy for them now,” he said.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is hosting the digital meeting as Japan concludes its presidency of the group. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was also scheduled to attend the summit, according to the Tokyo-based newspaper Kyodo News.