Kremlin says issue of territory is not the only one holding up a potential Ukraine peace deal

Moscow: Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday that the issue ​of who gets what territory was ‌not the only one ⁠holding up ‌a potential deal to end the fighting in Ukraine.

Russia wants Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the roughly 20% ​of Donetsk region which the Russian army does not control. Kyiv has said ‌it does ‌not want to gift Moscow territory which Russia ⁠has not won on the battlefield.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on ⁠Wednesday that active work ⁠was under way to ‌reconcile the issue at U.S.-mediated ‌talks. He described the disagreement as a key remaining issue that was "very ‍difficult" to resolve.

When asked on Thursday whether he agreed that the territorial question was the only outstanding one, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said: "I don't think so."