Russia Rejects U.S. Ceasefire Proposal, Insists on Addressing Wars Root Causes

Moscow is unwilling to accept American proposals for a ceasefire in Ukraine unless the «root causes» of the conflict are addressed, stated Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov during an interview on Tuesday.

«We take the American models and solutions very seriously, yet we cannot accept them in their current form,» Ryabkov mentioned in an excerpt from an interview published by the Russian Foreign Ministry’s journal, International Affairs.

Since assuming office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has advocated for a quick resolution to the war that has been ongoing for over three years. However, negotiations involving his administration, Russia, and Ukraine have not yielded any significant progress.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed a comprehensive joint U.S.-Ukrainian proposal for a month-long ceasefire, and last month he suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should be replaced as a part of the peace initiative.

On Sunday, Trump voiced his frustration to NBC News, expressing his irritation at Putin’s questioning of Zelensky’s reliability as a negotiating partner and his call for a change in leadership in Ukraine.

The Kremlin indicated on Monday that Putin is still open to engaging in dialogue with Trump, who later stated that he expects the Russian president to «honor his commitments» regarding a peace agreement.

However, Ryabkov cautioned that Moscow is not seeing any indicators from either Trump or Ukraine that might facilitate an end to the conflict beyond the proposed 30-day ceasefire.

«There is no inclusion of our chief demand in the U.S. proposals today, which is the resolution of issues related to the fundamental causes of this conflict,» he added.

Russian officials have frequently referenced the concept of “root causes,” which Putin mentioned last June includes Ukraine’s withdrawal from the disputed regions and its cessation of NATO aspirations.

Reporting by AFP contributed to this article.