Russia criticises US ceasefire idea for Ukraine as Putin plays hardball

Russian President Vladimir Putin's top foreign policy aide said on Thursday that he had told Washington that a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States to pause the war in Ukraine would simply give Kyiv's forces a much-needed battlefield respite. 

Russia's advances along the front in recent months and US President Donald Trump's attempt to strike a peace deal to end the three-year-old conflict in Ukraine have raised fears that Kyiv, which was backed by the West, could lose the war.   

Trump's Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday to meet Putin. Russian officials said US national security adviser Mike Waltz had provided details on the ceasefire idea on Wednesday and Russia was ready to discuss it. 

 

Trump had said in the White House on Wednesday that he hoped the Kremlin would agree to the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine said it would support. 

Yuri Ushakov, a former ambassador to Washington who speaks for Putin on major foreign policy issues, told state television that he had spoken to Waltz on Wednesday to outline Russia's position on the ceasefire. 

"I stated our position that this is nothing other than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military, nothing more," Ushakov said. 

"Our goal is a long-term peaceful settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of our country and our well-known concerns. It seems to me that no one needs any steps that (merely) imitate peaceful actions in this situation," he said. 

Asked if Russia was therefore rejecting the proposal, Ushakov, who has served alongside Putin in the Kremlin since 2012, said that the president would likely speak to the media later on Thursday and outline Russia's position in more detail. 

The remarks from such a senior Kremlin official indicate that Putin, Russia's paramount leader since 1999, thinks that Russia's advances on the battlefield in Ukraine and in western Russia give Moscow a strong hand in peace negotiations. 

It was unclear how Trump would react though after saying on Wednesday that he hoped Moscow would agree to a ceasefire to end the "bloodbath" and that in his first term he had been tougher on Russia than other presidents. 

"I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia," Trump said. "I don't want to do that because I want to get peace. I want to see peace and we'll see. But in a financial sense, yeah, we could do things very bad for Russia. It would be devastating for Russia." 

Trump has threatened harsher sanctions on Moscow should it fail to negotiate, but sanctions relief if it agrees to a ceasefire in Ukraine. 

Two Russian industry sources told Reuters Russia's industry and trade ministry was asking companies to suggest which sanctions most urgently needed to be lifted. The ministry was not immediately available for comment. 

The Kremlin said on Thursday it believes all sanctions are illegal and should be lifted.   

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