MOSCOW, Russia: Russia said this week that it is open to talks with European countries, but it will not accept threats or ultimatums.

This comes as there are growing signs that the European Union may try to restart discussions with Moscow after mostly avoiding contact since the war in Ukraine began.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it is common sense to have such talks because there are many complex issues to discuss. However, he said European countries need to change how they deal with Russia.

He said Europeans wrongly believe they can negotiate from a position of strength while Russia is weak, calling this a major mistake that will yield no results. He also questioned whether this approach comes from incompetence, misinformation, or something else, saying it is clearly a problem.

President Vladimir Putin has said he is willing to hold talks with European leaders, but they should make the first move since they were the ones who cut off relations. The EU has placed 20 rounds of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

After staying out of direct involvement for over a year and leaving U.S. President Donald Trump to try to end the war, the EU has recently started making cautious efforts to reconnect with Russia.

An EU official said that the office of European Council President Antonio Costa has had brief diplomatic contacts with the Kremlin in recent weeks to reopen communication channels.

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said in an interview that the EU should use the current momentum around peace talks in Ukraine to push for renewed negotiations with Putin.

Peskov said Russia is ready for talks if the other side is truly open to real dialogue, not just lecturing or making demands.

However, Costa's efforts have revealed disagreements among EU leaders. At a summit in Brussels, some leaders said they were not consulted and believe the EU should instead focus more on increasing pressure on Russia.

Ukraine says it is gaining the upper hand in the war through a stronger campaign of drone strikes deep inside Russia, targeting ports, oil refineries, and other important infrastructure. Russia denies this and says it will continue fighting until its goals are achieved if no peace agreement is reached.

The governor of the Moscow region said that an eight-year-old girl was killed in a large Ukrainian drone attack that hit Moscow and nearby areas a day earlier. The attack involved hundreds of drones and caused a major fire for the second time in three days at a large oil refinery in southeast Moscow.

Peskov said drone attacks are still happening and that steps are being taken to deal with the damage. When asked if Putin had seen videos of the burning refinery, Peskov told reporters to also look at images from Ukrainian cities hit by Russian strikes.

He added that these strikes will continue.