The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Russia was waiting for the details of the talks between the US and Ukraine that were held in Saudi Arabia a day earlier before responding to the proposed 30-day ceasefire.
“Yesterday, both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz mentioned that they would provide us with detailed information about the essence of the conversation that took place in Jeddah through various channels. We need to receive this information first,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
Peskov also said Russia is “examining the statements made following the negotiations carefully, and we are getting acquainted with the text of the joint statement adopted in Jeddah.”
The joint US-Ukraine statement said Ukraine had “expressed readiness to accept the US proposal to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, and which is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation.”
Russia has previously expressed opposition to the idea of a temporary ceasefire with Ukraine, and Russian sources told Reuters that it would be hard for Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept the ceasefire without any real guarantees since he has the advantage on the battlefield.
The US also resumed weapons shipments and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, which had been briefly paused. Russia might view the 30-day ceasefire as an opportunity for Ukraine to stabilize its defensive lines and rearm.
The US and Russia are expected to hold talks on the details of the proposal this week, and the Kremlin said a phone call between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is possible.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe spoke with Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, on Wednesday, but it’s unclear if they discussed the ceasefire proposal. According to the SVR, the two officials “discussed the issues of interaction of both intelligence agencies in areas of common interest and the settlement of crisis situations.”
The SVR said Ratcliffe and Naryshkin agreed “on maintaining regular contact between the SVR and CIA directors with the aim of facilitating international stability and security and reducing confrontation in relationships between Moscow and Washington.”
