Kremlin Casts Doubt on Temporary Cease-fire Plan as US Negotiators Arrive in Moscow

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A Kremlin aide said the 30-day temporary ceasefire โ€˜only gives the Ukrainians an opportunity to regroup, gain strength and, to continue the same thing.โ€™

United States negotiators arrived in Moscow on Thursday as one of Russian President Vladimir Putinโ€™s top foreign policy aides criticized the proposed ceasefire deal.

Yuri Ushakov, a former Russian ambassador, confirmed in a television interview that he had spoken to U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz and set out Russiaโ€™s view on the 30-day ceasefire proposal.

โ€œI have stated our position that this is nothing other than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military, nothing more,โ€ Ushakov told Russian media, adding that Russia was seeking a long-term settlement that took its interests and concerns into account.

โ€œA 30-day temporary ceasefire. Well, what does it give us? It gives us nothing. It only gives the Ukrainians an opportunity to regroup, gain strength and, to continue the same thing.โ€

Asked if that meant Moscow was rejecting the proposal, Ushakov said that the president would likely speak to the media later on Thursday and outline Russiaโ€™s position in more detail.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who confirmed that Washingtonโ€™s negotiators were on their way, did not provide details on who from the U.S. side was inbound. Russian state news agency TASS said that a plane used by Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trumpโ€™s special envoy, had departed Qatar and landed at Moscowโ€™s Vnukovo airport on Thursday morning, citing data from flight-tracking service Flightradar.

โ€œEarlier on Thursday, the Gulfstream G650 jet took off from Dohaโ€™s Hamad International Airport. At around 11:40 Moscow time, the plane entered Russian airspace from the direction of Latvia,โ€ TASS reported.

Witkoff had been in Qatar for negotiations on extending the cease-fire in Gaza.

Peskov also said that the United States had provided some information to Russia about a proposed cease-fire for Ukraine and would continue to do so in face-to-face talks in the coming days.

Separately, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow was ready to talk to Washington about a peace initiative discussed between the United States and Ukraine, and contacts would begin imminently.

โ€œWe are ready to discuss the initiatives set out there in future contacts with the United States. Such contacts are already possible as early as today,โ€ Zakharova said.

After talks with top U.S. diplomats in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Kyiv said it was ready to accept a 30-day ceasefire. The United States said it was putting the proposal to Moscow.

Byย Guy Birchall

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