Russia has criticised a proposed US-Ukraine ceasefire, saying it could give Ukrainian forces a reprieve, as Donald Trump’s envoy, Steven Witkoff, arrived in Moscow for peace talks with Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov mentioned he had advised the US nationwide safety adviser, Mike Waltz, that Moscow seen the proposed 30-day ceasefire as “nothing more than a short reprieve for Ukrainian forces”.
“Steps that merely imitate peaceful actions are not needed by anyone in this situation,” Ushakov mentioned in an interview with Russian state tv.
Ushakov’s remarks gave the impression to be the clearest indication to this point that the 30-day ceasefire plan, proposed by the US and accepted in precept by Ukraine, is unacceptable to Moscow in its present kind.
Ushakov added: “The document, it seems to me, has a hasty character … It will be necessary to work, think and take into account our position too. It outlines only the Ukrainian approach.”
His feedback got here as Witkoff’s jet landed in Moscow on Thursday, the place the shut Trump ally is predicted to fulfill Putin on the Kremlin to push for a ceasefire after Washington’s talks with Ukrainian officers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Witkoff, formally Trump’s Center East envoy, has been appearing as a key negotiator within the Russia-Ukraine battle.
Ukraine mentioned after the talks with prime US diplomats in Jeddah on Tuesday that it was prepared to just accept a direct 30-day ceasefire, and the US mentioned it could put the proposal to Russia.
Nonetheless, Moscow has been unwilling to decide to any ceasefire or timeline settlement.
Latest rhetoric from Russian officers has been notably sceptical of a short lived ceasefire, indicating little urgency to succeed in an settlement or make concessions. With the battlefield good points favouring Russia, Moscow seems to see little incentive to freeze the preventing with out gaining main concessions.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, cautioned towards “getting ahead of things” concerning a Russian response, saying Moscow would focus on the small print with the US first.
Russia’s international ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, mentioned on Thursday that Moscow was prepared to debate a US-backed peace initiative “as early as today”. However she additionally indicated that Russia noticed little urgency in halting preventing, reiterating it could not settle for western peacekeepers in Ukraine as a safety assure and that they’d be focused if deployed.
“We are ready to discuss the initiatives set out there in future contacts with the United States,” Zakharova mentioned. “Russia will not accept the deployment of foreign armed forces in Ukraine, as it would constitute direct involvement in the conflict, and Moscow will respond with all available means.”
Ukraine has mentioned it could want some form of safety assure with the intention to signal an enduring ceasefire deal.
Moscow’s continued resistance to European peacekeeping forces – seen by Ukraine as the one viable different to Nato membership for guaranteeing its safety – presents a serious impediment to a peace acceptable to Kyiv.
The Russian president is predicted to remark for the primary time on the ceasefire proposal on Thursday after his talks with the Belarusian dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, a Moscow ally.
Putin has repeatedly rejected the potential of a short lived ceasefire, saying he was targeted on addressing what he referred to as the “root causes” of the battle.
Observers consider Putin is decided to place ahead a string of maximalist calls for earlier than agreeing to any ceasefire, which is prone to delay negotiations.
Reuters and Bloomberg have reported that Russia, in discussions with the US, has offered a listing of such calls for to finish the struggle in Ukraine and reset relations with Washington.
Peskov declined to touch upon Thursday on the media stories.
These calls for might embody the demilitarisation of Ukraine, an finish to western army assist, and a dedication to conserving Kyiv out of Nato. Moscow may additionally push for a ban on international troop deployments in Ukraine and worldwide recognition of Putin’s claims to Crimea and the 4 Ukrainian areas Russia annexed in 2022.
Putin might additionally revisit a few of his broader calls for from 2021, which transcend Ukraine, together with a name for Nato to halt the deployment of weapons in member states that joined after 1997, when the alliance started increasing into former communist international locations.
Many in Europe concern these situations for peace might weaken the west’s skill to extend its army presence and will enable Putin to broaden his affect throughout the continent.
Moscow’s assured rhetoric is strengthened by its latest battlefield good points. On Thursday, the Kremlin mentioned its forces have been within the closing phases of expelling Ukraine’s military from the Kursk area, the place Kyiv had seized Russian territory final yr within the hope of utilizing it as leverage in peace negotiations.
The Russian army introduced on Thursday it had recaptured Sudzha, the most important city Ukraine held within the area, whereas Kyiv has indicated that an organised withdrawal is beneath manner.
