It was after 9:00pm in Moscow on Tuesday night that Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Ukraine and the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia.
By Wednesday afternoon, the Kremlin still appeared to be considering a response to the proposal.
“He refused to materialize the formation of the Russian Federation’s position,” said Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. [would] It will take place within the Russian Federation.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has sounded the issue. “Let’s not go any further than ourselves,” he said.
There were reports that US envoy Steve Witkov could travel to Moscow on Thursday, and Peskov said he would be notified to the media. Other than this, there were no comments from the Kremlin.
President Vladimir Putin is undoubtedly thinking carefully about whether to accept the proposal for a ceasefire, reject it, or to accept a revision of demand for it.
The idea of turning down or modifying a stop fire suggestion appears to have gained the most traction among commentators.
“if [Putin] Accepting the US proposal, that will lead to a dangerous situation,” Prokremlin critic and former Putin aide Sergey Markov told the BBC, claiming that the Russian military currently has an advantage at the forefront and could lose it.
There are also concerns that Ukraine could use a month-long ceasefire. So Russia could suggest several conditions, such as requesting the supply of Western weapons to Kiev.
“The requirement that an embargo be introduced on the supply of arms to Ukraine during this period means that Europe needs to support the ceasefire in Europe with action rather than words,” Markov told Russian media.
If he accepts the proposal, Markov suggests that public opinion could be a factor. Russian society is “fed up with war,” he told the BBC.
While it is true that some recent studies have given Russia’s population growth in favor of negotiating peace with Ukraine, it is not clear that public opinion will have any shaking in Putin’s decision.
Another possible measure for Russia is to accept a ceasefire and condemn the violations of Ukraine’s “provocation” in the hopes of accepting a ceasefire and trusting Kiev in Trump’s eyes.
After Russia seized Crimea in 2014, many attempts have been made to carry out a ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev. They all failed.
If this attempt works, it becomes unprecedented.
Away from the Kremlin silence, the announcement of the most detailed ceasefire proposal since the beginning of the Moscow war with Ukraine was openly debated in Russian media.
In some cases, there was a thrill of what they saw as Ukraine folding into US demands, and Komsomolskaya Pravda claimed that the White House had “cut off Kiev for good.”
“They heard exactly what they wanted to hear from Ukraine,” Dai-ichi said.
Still, the overwhelming sentiment among many Russian commentators and lawmakers is one of the skepticism, particularly in light of the US’s decision to resume sending arms with Kyiv Intelligence.
MP Viktor Sobolev said the temporary ceasefire would only fall into the hands of Ukrainians, as it would allow them to “reorganize in 30 days, replenish ranks and replenish with drones.”
It also had the driving force to highlight the Russian military’s victory in the Kursk region, which Kiev had occupied since last summer.
Images of Russian soldiers that Ukraine, the largest town in Ukraine, was able to capture in the Kursk region on Wednesday morning, were ubiquitous on Russian television and popular telegram channels, praised the “bold” work of Moscow’s military.
“The real terms of negotiations are being created by our heroic men now.
Regardless of the chat, the final decision will rest with Vladimir Putin, as always in Russia today.
He is the heart of this deal, like Trump. “We… don’t rule out the need for phone conversations at the highest level,” Peskov said Wednesday morning. This means that there is direct contact between the two presidents on the card.
Some Russians may believe this is Trump’s preferred path.
“By his own approval, he will only make deals with the ‘boss’,” state broadcaster Ria Novosti said.
“This means there are no deals with “teams,” “representatives,” or “envoys.” Only between Putin and Trump is possible. ”
