Whether a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine can be achieved soon depends on both sides reaching a comprehensive and lasting peace deal, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow on Tuesday.
Peskov emphasized that Russia is unlikely to participate in any ceasefire if Ukraine seeks "short-term, unviable solutions" instead of a lasting resolution.
"We want peace. We don’t want a truce to give Ukraine a breathing space and prepare for a continuation of the war,” Peskov told reporters.
"We want to stop this war, achieve our goals, secure our interests, and guarantee peace in Europe for the future. That’s what we want,” he said.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia will not make any concessions on the Donbas region or Crimea, and these are not up for discussion, according to Russian media reports on Tuesday.
According to the reports, Ryabkov told U.S. news outlet ABC in a recent interview that Moscow will not agree to the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine in any form.
Ryabkov noted that reaching a truly sustainable solution to the Ukraine crisis and addressing the root causes of the conflict would take a long time and be very difficult.
He added that there are obvious differences among the parties over possible solutions, and that the Russian side is willing to make efforts to overcome these differences.
Also on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Ukrainian negotiation team will soon visit the United States to further discuss plans to "end the Russia-Ukraine conflict."
Zelensky on Monday concluded two days of talks with U.S. representatives in Berlin, describing the discussions as "productive."
His talks with U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner lasted several hours on Sunday and Monday.
Speaking on Monday at the 8th German-Ukrainian Business Forum in Berlin, Zelensky said that the important conversations with the U.S. side are always complex, difficult, but very productive this time.
Despite existing differences in positions among the parties, both the U.S. and Ukraine will continue negotiations. U.S. media outlets indicate that progress has been made on the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine.
A group of European leaders on Monday held discussions with Zelensky and the U.S. representatives in Berlin. After the meeting, the European side issued a statement, saying that the U.S. and European leaders are committed to jointly providing security guarantees and support for economic recovery of Ukraine in the context of reaching a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Russian seeks comprehensive, lasting peace deal with Ukraine: Kremlin spokesman
Russian seeks comprehensive, lasting peace deal with Ukraine: Kremlin spokesman
