The Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday that he opposes the ceasefire as it is nothing more than a “temporary respite” Ukrainian forces.
The US President has sent the special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow to hold talks with Russian officials over the proposed 30 day ceasefire.
Ushakov said on state TV, “We believe that our goal is a long-term peaceful settlement, and we are striving for that, a peaceful settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of our country and our known concerns.”
He said that they made their position clear to the US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
“I outlined our position that this (ceasefire) is nothing more than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military, nothing more,” Ushakov said.
When asked over Witkoff’s arrival in Moscow, Ushakov said, “We agreed that this kind of contact would be of a closed nature.”
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A ceasefire will be a tactical solution for Ukraine, but not for Moscow as they believe Russian forces are doing well on the frontlines, in the Kursk region they are gaining more of their territory back and occupy around 20% of Ukrainian territory in the east.
It more likely that Vladimir Putin will want his forces to continue fighting as a ceasefire will benefit Ukrainian troops, which tactically he will not want to do.
However, the flip side of this is both sides could regroup and prepare for further fighting which would be beneficially to Ukraine and Russia.
Last month the Kremlin said there will be no negotiations on the five captured Ukrainian regions as they dictate what they will have to the US and the West.
The Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Crimean peninsula, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia were annexed by Moscow in September 2022, even though they do not occupy all of these territories.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said during a briefing on Wednesday that Ukraine will never recognise the occupied territories as Russian, and this is a “red line” to any negotiations.
He stated that Ukrainian soldiers have “fought for this” and “our heroes have died” to take back their territory from Russia.
President Zelensky said, “As for red lines. I, as President, and Ukrainians, as citizens of their country, will not violate their constitution but will defend our sovereignty and our independence, protecting our people and our land.
“It is very difficult for us to fight against such an enemy, and that is clear.”
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