Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and his press secretary Dmitry Peskov (left), Photo: “Kommersant
Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively thwarted the possibility of a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, giving the West an ultimatum to stop supplying weapons to Kyiv. This was stated by the Russian leader’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov in an interview with the US television channel ABC News.
According to him, Putin allegedly supported the idea of a short-term truce, but the Kremlin considers its implementation impossible as long as Western countries provide military assistance to Ukraine. Peskov stressed that, in Moscow’s view, “this will give an advantage to the Ukrainian army”, allowing it to strengthen its defence, mobilise new forces and prepare reserves.
“Ukraine will use this time to train new soldiers and rest those who are already fighting. So why should we give Ukraine such an advantage?” said Peskov.
The Kremlin also justifies its refusal to call off the ceasefire by the active offensive actions of its troops, which, according to Peskov, are “moving confidently”. In this way, Moscow is once again demonstrating that it is not interested in real negotiations, but is using diplomatic rhetoric as a tool to put pressure on the US and EU.
This position of the Kremlin contradicts the international community’s calls for a cessation of hostilities, especially on the eve of the summits on security and global peace scheduled for the summer.
