The Art of Hedging: Russia Says Maybe to Ceasefire

Russian officials dismissed a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine Thursday, calling it a move that solely benefits Kyiv without offering Moscow any strategic advantage, even as the Russian president said he was open to it, the Hill reported.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov criticized the proposal, claiming that it gives Russia “nothing” and “only allows the Ukrainians to regroup, gather strength, and continue the same thing in the future.”

His remarks followed an agreement by Ukraine to a 30-day ceasefire with Russia following talks between Kyiv and Washington officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, said Thursday he was open to the ceasefire “in principle” but wanted to meet directly with US President Donald Trump first, before committing, CNBC reported.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who participated in the negotiations, said Tuesday that “the ball is in the (Russians’) court” after Ukraine agreed to the truce.

Ushakov’s comments underscored growing resistance within the Kremlin toward US diplomatic efforts, even as Trump dispatched his top envoy, Steve Witkoff, to negotiate with Russian officials this week.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not confirm whether Putin would meet Witkoff but acknowledged that Russia planned to maintain contacts with US officials regarding the ceasefire.

While Moscow has not formally rejected the ceasefire proposal, a document prepared by an influential Russian think tank with close ties to the Federal Security Service (FSB) indicated that the Kremlin sees little incentive for peace talks under the current terms, the Washington Post added.

Instead, the document – obtained by a European intelligence service and reviewed by the newspaper – showed that “a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis cannot happen before 2026” and that Russia should work to create tensions between the Trump administration and its Western allies.

Among Moscow’s demands are a ban on Ukraine joining NATO, international recognition of Russia’s claims over occupied Ukrainian territories, and the creation of a buffer zone in Ukraine’s northeast and a demilitarized zone in the south.

The document also calls for the complete dismantling of the Ukrainian government and rejects the deployment of international peacekeepers.

The report also recommended that Russia leverage its control over occupied Ukrainian territories to entice US economic cooperation, particularly in rare-earth mineral extraction.

Analysts said these demands align with Russia’s pre-invasion ultimatums from February 2022, which Ukraine, the US, and European nations have repeatedly rejected.

Thomas Graham of the Council on Foreign Relations told the newspaper that Moscow is “not interested in an early resolution of the Ukraine crisis.”

“They consistently talk about the root causes, which, as you know, are about the domestic politics in Ukraine, and even more important than that, the European security architecture, which would be the role of NATO,” he added.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have intensified military operations in the Kursk region, where they have been pushing Ukrainian troops out of occupied Russian territory.

On Wednesday, Putin made a surprise visit to Kursk and ordered his troops to accelerate their offensive, Reuters noted.

According to Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Russian forces have retaken more than 86 percent of the territory Ukraine previously occupied in Kursk, equivalent to 425 square miles.