Russia says it is giving serious consideration to US proposals on ending the war in Ukraine, but ‘cannot accept’ President Donald Trump‘s current peace deal and has issued a fresh set of demands.
Moscow wants the US to take into account what it regards as the root causes of the conflict, a Russian diplomat was quoted by state media as saying on Tuesday.
‘We take the models and solutions proposed by the Americans very seriously, but we can’t accept it all in its current form,’ Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying.
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‘As far as we can see, there is no place in them today for our main demand, namely to solve the problems related to the root causes of this conflict,’ he was cited as telling the magazine ‘International Affairs’ in an interview.
‘It is completely absent, and that must be overcome,’ he was quoted as saying.
Trump scolded Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, expressing frustration at the continued fighting in a war that he had pledged to swiftly stop.
Trump insisted progress was being made in the negotiations, but said that he would consider imposing further sanctions to put pressure on Moscow.
He also accused Zelensky of trying to back out of a deal with the US on access to Ukraine’s mineral resources.
Ukraine has conducted a first round of consultations with the US on what he said was the latest version of the mineral deal, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Tuesday.
Putin has effectively refused a US proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting, despite Trump’s prodding.
Also, a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea that could allow safer shipments has fallen foul of conditions imposed by Kremlin negotiators.
