Russia Kremlin sees Kiev's ceasefire call as obstacle to negotiations
Moscow has dismissed Kiev's insistence on a longer ceasefire as a demand that would only hinder the negotiation process for an end to the war in Ukraine.
30.04.2025, 13:38
SDA
According to the state news agency Tass, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Kiev was making negotiations more difficult by imposing preconditions such as a ceasefire. "This contradicts the position of President (Vladimir) Putin." Putin is ready for direct talks with Ukraine without preconditions, Peskov added.
Putin's readiness for such negotiations still applies. However, Kiev had not yet responded to a corresponding offer, Peskov complained during an appearance at an educational forum.
Longer ceasefire rejected
In March, the Kremlin leader had already rejected US President Donald Trump's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire without preconditions as a first step towards a peaceful solution to the war of aggression, which has now been going on for three years. He justified this with concerns that Ukraine would use the time to regroup its units, mobilize new soldiers and rearm.
Moscow also rejected the latest proposals from Kiev to extend the three-day ceasefire ordered by Putin around the Victory Day parade on Red Square to mark the end of the Second World War 80 years ago on the same grounds.
Russia is not backing down from its demands for Ukraine to renounce its NATO membership, the Crimean peninsula and the four Ukrainian territories annexed by Moscow in 2022 - Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia. Moscow also insists on the disarmament and "denazification" of the neighboring country, which in Moscow is best understood as the establishment of a Russia-friendly government.
