Putin’s suggestion for ceasefire in Ukraine rejected by US: report

The extent of the contact and its failure have not been previously reported. (document)

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine to freeze the war was rejected by the United States after being approached by an intermediary, three Russian sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.

The failure of Putin’s policies has sent Europe’s worst conflict since World War II into its third year and shown how far apart the world’s two largest nuclear powers are.

A U.S. source denied any official contact and said Washington would not engage in talks that did not involve Ukraine.

Russian sources said Putin publicly and privately signaled to Washington in 2023 through intermediaries, including through Moscow’s Arab partners in the Middle East, that he was prepared to consider a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Putin has proposed a freeze on the current conflict and is unwilling to give up any Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine, but the signal offers what some in the Kremlin see as the best path to some kind of peace.

“Contacts with the Americans were fruitless,” a senior Russian source with knowledge of discussions in late 2023 and early 2024 told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

Another Russian source with knowledge of the contact told Reuters the contacts failed after the Americans told Moscow through an intermediary that they would not discuss a possible ceasefire without Ukrainian involvement.

“Everything is broken for the Americans,” said a third source with knowledge of the discussions. The Americans did not want to pressure Ukraine, the source said.

The extent of the contact and its failure have not been previously reported.

For months, U.S. President Joe Biden has been urging Congress to approve more aid to Ukraine, facing resistance from allies of Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

The Kremlin, White House, State Department and CIA all declined to comment.

The United States says there is “no retreat”

Putin sent thousands of troops to Ukraine in February 2022, triggering an all-out war in eastern Ukraine after eight years of conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian Ukrainians and Russian proxies.

Ukraine says it is fighting for its survival, while the West views Putin’s incursion as an imperial land grab that challenges the post-Cold War international order.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he will never accept Russian control of Ukrainian lands. He banned any contact with Russia.

An unnamed U.S. official in Washington said the U.S. had not had any back-channel discussions with Russia and that Washington would not act behind Ukraine’s back.

The U.S. official said there appeared to be unofficial, intra-governmental “Track Two” conversations among the Russians but that the U.S. was not involved.

The U.S. official said that based on public reports, Putin’s proposal was unchanged from past demands that Russia retain territory in Ukraine. The official said Moscow appeared frustrated by Washington’s repeated refusal to accept the deal.

Putin told US talk show host Tucker Carlson last week that Russia was ready for “dialogue.”

Contact information

According to three Russian sources, the intermediaries met in Turkey in late 2023.

A fourth diplomatic source said informal contacts between Russia and the United States through intermediaries were held at Russia’s initiative but appeared to be fruitless.

The U.S. official said he was unaware of unofficial contacts through intermediaries.

Putin’s signal was relayed to Washington, where senior U.S. officials including White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, CIA Director Bill Burns and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken were present, according to three Russian sources. A meeting was held.

The idea is that Sullivan will speak with Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, and work out next steps, a Russian source said.

But a Russian source said that when contacted by phone in January, Sullivan told Ushakov that Washington was willing to talk about other aspects of the relationship but not a ceasefire without Ukraine.

The U.S. official declined to disclose any details of Sullivan’s alleged call or whether such a call had taken place with Ushakov.

Putin ‘ready to fight’

One Russian source expressed frustration with the United States as Washington insisted it would not push Ukraine into negotiations given that it was helping to finance the war.

“Putin said: ‘I know they won’t do anything,'” another Russian source said. “They severed the root of the connection that took two months to establish.”

Another Russian source said the United States did not appear to believe Putin was sincere.

“Americans don’t believe that Putin really wants a ceasefire, but he was and is ready to discuss a ceasefire. But equally, Putin is ready to keep fighting, and Russia will fight for it as long as it takes.” How long will it take, “Russian sources said.

Russian sources say the Kremlin sees little point in further engaging the United States on the issue, so the war will continue.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)