The United States rejected Putin’s plan to freeze the war in Ukraine, transmitted through intermediaries, writes Reuters.
Tuesday 13 February edition reportedthat the Russian president’s signals of readiness to consider the possibility of a ceasefire in Ukraine were rejected after contacts between mediators on both sides.
Reuters reported this, citing three Russian sources familiar with the discussions. According to them, the Kremlin proposed to freeze military operations on the existing contact lines, not wanting to cede any of the controlled territories.
In 2023, the President of the Russian Federation voiced his position publicly and conveyed it privately through intermediaries, including through Moscow’s Arab partners in the Middle East, the publication notes. The United States refused to discuss a ceasefire without the participation of Kyiv. A high-ranking Russian source, on condition of anonymity, stated after discussions in late 2023-early 2024: “Contacts with the Americans led nowhere.”
Another source said that the Americans, through intermediaries, conveyed that they would not discuss a possible ceasefire without the participation of Ukraine, and therefore the contacts ended in failure. A third source familiar with the discussions noted that “everything fell apart with the Americans,” since the United States did not want to put pressure on Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the agency’s source in the United States stated that there are no official contacts between Moscow and Washington. He stressed that the United States will not participate in negotiations with the Russian Federation that affect the interests of Ukraine. Russian authorities did not comment on this information.
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