After a top Kremlin aide slammed the US's 30-day ceasefire proposal to pause the war between Russia and Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Vladimir Putin of "seeking to prolong the war".
"This once again demonstrates that Russia seeks to prolong the war and postpone peace for as long as possible. We hope that US pressure will be sufficient to compel Russia to end the war," he said.
We must move toward peace, toward security guarantees, and we need to free our people. We are determined to work as quickly as possible with our partners.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 12, 2025
The key factor is our partners’ ability to ensure Russia’s readiness not to deceive but to genuinely end the war. Because… pic.twitter.com/VUkrTS1VyF
Zelenskyy also urged the US to compel Moscow to end the war.
Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov, a former ambassador to Washington, told the state television that he had spoken to US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on the US's proposal.
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"This is nothing other than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military, nothing more," Ushakov was quoted by Reuters.
He added that Russia is looking for a long-term peaceful settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of Moscow.
Russia has rejected the 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine proposed by the US.
— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 13, 2025
Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy advisor, says this would be “nothing other than a temporary breather for Ukrainian troops.” pic.twitter.com/fbrwJf82bE
“The document, it seems to me, has a hasty character... It will be necessary to work, think and take into account our position too. It outlines only the Ukrainian approach,” RIA cited Ushakov as saying.
The US has been making efforts to end the three-year-old conflict in Ukraine by striking a peace deal. US President Donald Trump urged both nation leaders to sit together and negotiate the terms to end the war.
Recently, US officials held peace talks with Ukraine's Zelenskyy in Saudi in the second round of talks. Last month, US officials held discussions with Russian representatives in Riyadh on striking a peace deal to end the war.
Meanwhile, Trump on Wednesday said that he hoped Russia would agree to his proposal for a 30-day ceasefire.
Since 2012, Ushakov has served alongside Putin.
UK PM Keir Starmer has slammed Russia's rejection of the US ceasefire proposal. He said that he was not "entirely surprised".
"It doesn’t entirely surprise me that Russia is taking this stance. They’ve made it pretty clear. They put it in lights a number of times over...We know that Putin has ambitions that are barely disguised," said Starmer.
