Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Friday that while negotiations aimed at securing peace in the Ukraine conflict remain “difficult,” Russia is still committed to finding a resolution.
His remarks came in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent statement, in which Trump said he anticipates a response from Moscow regarding a proposed peace deal with Kiev later this week.
When asked by reporters whether Trump’s comments indicated any behind-the-scenes agreements between Washington and Moscow, Peskov acknowledged that there has been some progress in the peace efforts, but emphasized that many complex issues still need to be addressed.
“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 questioned about U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks suggesting that the United States might abandon its efforts to broker a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev if it perceives a lack of progress.
In response, the Kremlin spokesman said that the question of whether the U.S. will actually step back from the negotiation process is one that should be directed to officials in Washington.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Rubio said the U.S. hopes to see some movement toward a peace agreement in Ukraine in the near future, adding that Washington will not continue its involvement in the matter 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
