Kremlin warns no rest for Ukrainian army without meeting Putin's demands
Russian President Vladimir Putin (photo: Getty Images)
The Kremlin warned that it won't let Ukrainian Defense Forces take advantage of even a brief lull in fighting at the front. Moscow is banking on Washington changing its stance on ending the war, according to an interview with a Kremlin official given to the Russian state outlet TASS.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that Moscow won't allow Ukrainian Defense Forces to use any break in fighting to regroup and rebuild unless the root causes of the conflict are eliminated.
He also noted that Donald Trump's return to the White House has given the Kremlin reason for cautious optimism about potentially improving relations between Russia and the US.
According to Ryabkov, Russian leader Vladimir Putin allegedly confirmed the basic approach regarding the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict through political and diplomatic efforts during phone conversations with Trump.
At the same time, the diplomat emphasized that if the Kremlin's conditions aren't met, Russia will act to prevent the Ukrainian Armed Forces from taking advantage of any operational pause.
Ryabkov also noted that Moscow's position is well known to the Washington administration, and no threats of sanctions will change it.
'It's strange that the hotheads who've lost what's left of their common sense in the US Senate don't take this reality into account. We will continue our efforts to achieve the goals of the special military operation. So the decision and choice are up to Washington, up to Trump,' the Russian deputy foreign minister concluded.
Peace talks and Kremlin demands
On the eve of the second round of peace negotiations that took place on June 2nd in Istanbul, the Russian side handed Ukraine's delegation their own draft memorandum on a ceasefire and ending the war.
The proposal contained Moscow's usual demands, requiring Kyiv to hand over control of four regions and Crimea to Russia. The document also stated that during any ceasefire period, Ukrainian Armed Forces would have to halt mobilization and regrouping, while Western countries would be prohibited from supplying Ukraine with weapons.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed the Kremlin's memorandum, calling it political spam and PR for domestic consumption.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump essentially blamed Ukraine for Russia's massive attack on the night of June 6th.
