Moscow’s UN envoy deems a swift truce “unrealistic.”
Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg reports that senior US officials have informed European allies of Washington’s expectation for a comprehensive ceasefire in Ukraine within weeks.
According to Bloomberg, US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio presented this timeline at a series of meetings in Paris on Thursday, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.
The report states that the European side attempted to convince the Americans to have President Donald Trump “harden its position toward Moscow,” characterizing the discussions as “the latest attempt by Europe to influence the outcome” of US-Russia talks.
Witkoff’s recent talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, which he described as “compelling,” followed criticism from Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, who accused Trump’s envoy of echoing “Russian narratives.”
Russian officials are skeptical about a ceasefire with Ukraine, claiming that Kiev’s European backers are hindering US efforts.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Russia’s UN representative, Vassily Nebenzia, pointed out Kiev’s failure to uphold a US-brokered moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure. He added that the West’s history of using alleged peace agreements to bolster the Ukrainian military makes expectations for a full ceasefire “simply unrealistic at this stage.”
“I cannot speak on behalf of President Trump,” Nebenzia stated. “Perhaps, he knows better what I don’t know.”
The 30-day energy ceasefire announced on March 18 is due to expire this week. When questioned on Wednesday about potential changes to Russia’s military strategy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin had not issued any new directives.
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