Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a proposal for an immediate ceasefire on Thursday, but said he is open to a more permanent, Russia-friendly agreement.
“We agree with the propositions to stop hostilities. Let me proceed from the fact that such ceasefire should be such that would lead to permanent peace and remove the initial root causes of the crisis,” Putin said, as translated by state media outlet RT. Putin has said numerous times the reason for Russia’s invasion was Ukraine’s intention to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which he views as an enemy alliance that existentially threatens Russia.
Issues to Discuss
Regarding a peace deal, Putin said there are issues that need to be discussed “with our American colleagues and partners,” a sign that Moscow and Washington, D.C., are likely be the ultimate deciders if and how peace is achieved in Eastern Europe. Ukraine had already agreed to the deal that Russia rejected.
U.S. President Donald Trump reversed the Biden administration’s policy of isolating Moscow and began talking to Putin immediately after winning 2024 election.
Before Russia rejected the deal on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that if “their response is no, it would be highly unfortunate and it would make their intentions clear.” Days before that, Trump said he was considering “large scale Banking Sanctions” and tariffs on Russia until a peace agreement is reached.
No Military Solution
The outlines of the rejected proposal came about after eight hours of discussions with Ukrainian officials. Rubio on Wednesday told reporters there is no military solution to the war, and insisted the bullets have to stop flying so both sides can talk. “Neither side can militarily achieve their maximalist gains — their maximalist goals. The only way this conflict can end is through negotiation,” he said. However, the outcome, Rubio added, needs to include security and long-term prosperity for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky brought up the need for security assurances numerous times during his train-wreck of a meeting with Trump on February 28. On Wednesday, Rubio said the issue comes down to deterrence:
Can Ukraine create a sufficient deterrent against future aggression, against future attack, against future invasion? Because every country in the world has a right to defend themselves, and no one can dispute that. So that will most certainly have to be part of the conversation. But again, I don’t think there’s — there isn’t a peace to secure until you have a peace.
When asked if the United States supports European peacekeepers in Ukraine, Rubio didn’t commit to an answer. He also refused to provide concrete details of the proposal, citing a need for confidentiality during such negotiations. But he did touch on what the Ukrainians would like to see:
The Ukrainians made very clear that this isn’t just about ending a war. They need to get their prisoners of war back; they need to get the children back. They’d like to see an exchange of prisoners of war; they’d like to see their children back. So there’s all sorts of things tied to the, humanitarian assistance is important as well. There are areas of Ukraine that have been badly damaged that require immediate assistance. So these are the sorts of things that we talked about as being inclusive in the negotiation process.
Russian Demands
As for Russian demands, the Kremlin will want to keep the Ukrainian territory it already controls, reverse anti-Russian culture policies in Ukraine, and ensure Ukraine will never join NATO.
Among Putin’s reasons for rejecting the ceasefire is that a 30-day pause would only benefit Ukraine, he said, which is losing and on the run. Pausing would provide time for Ukrainians to regroup and rearm.
Meanwhile, the Russians just took back Sudzha, the largest town Ukraine held in the Kursk region. Russia has also recaptured a string of villages in recent days, undoubtedly aided by the absence of intelligence sharing by the United States with Ukraine, which had resumed by Wednesday.
Russian forces that worked to recapture the territory in Kursk included North Korean troops. Reports say the Russians exhibited quite the dedication to this mission. “One unit crawled through a disused section of a natural-gas pipeline this week to outflank Ukrainian troops defending Sudzha, with several dying of methane poisoning, according to pro-Kremlin war bloggers,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
