Both those and waiting for Moscow’s reaction to the proposal for a truce. According to him, he is expecting to find out more details about its content before answering.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov implied that a journalist “went a little bit” asking if Russia intended to link a ceasefire proposal to the removal of international sanctions imposed for the war in Ukraine.
“Rubio and Walts said they would transmit detailed information through various channels about the essence of the discussion in Jeddah. We must first receive this information »Peskov said.
Rubio said the United States hoped for a positive response and that if the answer is negative, then it would say a lot to Washington about the real intentions of the Kremlin.
Asked if Russia could accept the ceasefire unconditionally, Rubio said: “This is what we want to know – if he is willing to do so unconditionally.”
In Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski between US and Ukrainian officials as constructive and said that a potential 30 -day truce with Russia could be used to draw a wider peace agreement.
Continue the pounding in Kursk
At the same time the Russians continue the attack to recapture Kursk. The Ukrainian troops appeared on Wednesday to be ready to lose their difficult wins inside the Russian region, as Moscow has made further progress. Military analysts on both sides said the Kiev forces were withdrawing.
The Russian media group Agentstvo, which analyzed Ukrainian open source maps, said Ukraine is now controlling only 150 square kilometers in Kursk. A Ukrainian source said last year had checked 1,376 square kilometers of ground in the area.
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that he is ready to talk about the end of the war, and Trump says he believes that Putin is serious, though other Western leaders disagree.
Reuters said in November that Putin was ready to negotiate an agreement with Trump, but would refuse to make important territorial concessions and would insist on Kiev to abandon his ambitions to join NATO.
A superior Russian source told Reuters that Putin would find it difficult to agree with the idea of ceasefire without processing the terms and receiving some kind of guarantees.
Russia’s wish
Konstantin Koscev, chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Council of the Federation of the Upper House of Representatives of the Russian Parliament, told Telegram that Russia’s progress in Ukraine should be taken into account.
“The real agreements are still written there on the front. Which they should understand in Washington as well. “he said. Putin has repeatedly said that a short -term truce is not the way to end the war.
In June, he set his terms for peace: Ukraine must officially abandon its ambitions for NATO and withdraw its troops from the total of four Ukrainian regions claiming and controlling Russia for the most part, which holds a little less than one.
Ukraine says that the areas have been illegally attached and that it will never recognize Russian sovereignty to them.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after the overthrow of a Russian -speaking president during the Maidan revolution in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea by Russia, with Russia -backed autonomist forces fighting the armed forces at the time.
Trump’s envoy will visit Moscow this week
The White House confirmed that US National Security Advisor Mike Walts spoke with his Russian counterpart today.
White House spokesman Carolin Levitt also said that American envoy Steve Witkov for talks about the ceasefire in Ukraine.
“Mr Vitkov travels to Moscow later this week,” Levit said after Donald Trump said US negotiators “are going to Russia right now”.
In Kursk Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited troops in the Kursk region today, as the Kremlin announced, as Russian forces have released many of the Ukrainian invaders in recent days.
This is the first visit of President Putin to the Kursk Region since Ukrainian forces have launched an unexpected cross -border attack in August 2024.
Russia’s Chief of Staff told President Putin that the Ukrainian forces were surrounded, according to the news agency RIA Novosti.
Underlining that the Russian troops must completely release the Kursk Region, President Putin stressed that the arrested soldiers would be treated as “terrorists”, that is, not as prisoners of war.
Prisoners will be treated as terrorists
Russian Army Chief of Staff Valerie Gerasimov announced today to Russian President Vladimir Putin that 430 Ukrainian soldiers were captured in the recent promotion of Russian forces in the Kursk region.
“Ukrainian soldiers, seeing that it was futile to continue the resistance, began to surrender and 430 were captured,” said Gerasimov, whose statements were transmitted by Russian television.
Putin said that these prisoners would be treated as “terrorists”.
