- Trump is trying to set up a complete ceasefire in Ukraine
- Russia says US proposal needs rework
- Moscow said we took our ideas “very serious”
A senior Russian diplomat said Russia could not accept the proposal to end the Ukrainian war in its current form because they did not resolve the problem of the conflict caused by Moscow.
Comments by Deputy Foreign Secretary Sergei Ryabkov show that Moscow and Washington have been unable to bridge the differences raised by President Vladimir Putin two weeks ago when he said our proposal needs to be reprocessed.
They come because U.S. President Donald Trump seems to have a wider deal with Moscow that could drag down what he suggests is getting more impatient.
Trump said in recent days he was “angry” with Putin and said he had imposed sanctions on countries that bought Russian oil if he thought Moscow had blocked a deal.
Ryabkov, an expert on U.S.-Russian relations, said Moscow cannot reach an agreement yet.
“We attach great importance to the models and solutions proposed by Americans, but we cannot accept it in our current form.” Ryyabof was cited by state media in an interview released on Tuesday, telling Russian magazine “International Affairs.”
“To the best of our knowledge, there is no place in our main needs today, i.e., to resolve issues related to the root cause of this conflict. This is completely non-existent and must be overcome.”
Putin has said he hopes Ukraine will abandon its ambitions with Russia’s NATO to control four of its four Ukrainian regions that it claims to be itself, and the limited size of the Ukrainian army. Kyiv said the demands were related to demanding their surrender.
“Very complex”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier Tuesday that Moscow “is continuing to connect with the United States.”
“The topic is very complex. The substance we are discussing related to Ukrainian settlements is very complex. This requires a lot of additional effort.”
Russia also said on Tuesday that it fully complied with the suspension of attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state television that Defense Minister Andrei Belousov introduced Putin to Ukrainian violations at a meeting of the Russian Security Council on Tuesday.
Lavrov said Russia announced a list of violations to U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trump took a more reconciliational stance against Russia before the weekend, which was now in his fourth year when U.S. and European allies were upset by his attempt to end the Ukraine conflict.
But in recent days, he has adopted a more difficult tone in lobbying by Europeans such as Finnish presidents, who urged him to get Russia occupied.
