Report: US rejects Putin’s call for a cease-fire in Ukraine

LONDON/MOSCOW: According to three Russian sources with knowledge of the conversations, the US rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine to stop the conflict. The worst war in Europe since World War II enters its third year as a result of Putin’s strategy failing.

According to a US source, Washington would not participate in negotiations without including Ukraine and denied that there had been any formal communication.According to the Russian sources, Putin informed Washington in 2023 that he was prepared to discuss a truce in Ukraine via both public and private channels, including Moscow’s Arab allies in West Asia and others.
Although Putin refused to give up any of the Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine and was only ready to freeze the conflict at its present lines, the signal provided what some in the Kremlin believed to be the best route towards some kind of peace. “The conversations in late 2023 and early 2024 with the Americans were fruitless,” a senior Russian source said. A second Russian source said that the talks broke down because the Americans informed Moscow via the middlemen that they would not talk about a potential truce without Ukraine’s involvement. According to a third source, the Americans were unwilling to put pressure on Ukraine.