Russia is committed to resolving the crisis, the Kremlin has said, after the US president stated he wanted an answer about a peace agreement this week
The ongoing negotiations to secure peace in the Ukraine conflict are “difficult,” but Russia remains committed to achieving a resolution, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
Peskov’s comments follow US President Donald Trump’s statement that he expects a response from Moscow on a proposed peace agreement with Kiev later this week.
Speaking to reporters, the Kremlin spokesman was asked whether Trump’s remarks suggested any behind-the-scenes agreements between Washington and Moscow.
He acknowledged some progress in efforts to resolve the conflict but stressed that numerous challenging issues remain on the table.
“We believe that certain progress can already be stated. This progress is related to the temporary moratorium that Russia adhered to — a moratorium on not striking energy infrastructure facilities,” Peskov said. He added that while Moscow has honored this moratorium, “the same cannot be said for the Ukrainian side.”
At a press conference at the White House on Thursday, Trump reiterated that he expects a swift end to the Ukraine conflict and indicated that he expects to hear from Moscow “very shortly” regarding a ceasefire proposal. “We’ll see what that will be. We’re going to be hearing from them this week. Very shortly, actually, and we’ll see. But we want the death and the killing to stop,” Trump said.
Peskov was also asked to comment on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement that the US could abandon its efforts to reach a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev if it feels that no progress is being made on the issue.
The spokesman stated that whether or not the US would actually withdraw from the settlement process is a question that should be asked in Washington.
In a statement to journalists on Friday, Rubio indicated that the US expects to see some progress on a peace deal in Ukraine in the coming days and stressed that Washington will not pursue the issue indefinitely.
“No one is saying that this is going to get done in 12 hours,” Rubio admitted, but stated that Washington expects to figure out “within a matter of days whether this is doable in the short term.” If not, the US is “just going to move on,” he said.
