The Kremlin claims that Trump sincerely seeks peace in Ukraine, but warns that Russia will continue its offensive while awaiting new proposals from Washington
The government of Vladimir Putin stated this Friday that it considers the effort of U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine to be sincere and that Moscow is willing to wait for new proposals from Washington, despite the fact that the United States has increased its supply of weapons to Kiev. At the same time, Russia warned that it will maintain its military offensive to achieve its objectives as long as there are no concrete prospects for a peace agreement.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow prefers a negotiated solution, but that the lack of diplomatic progress forces Russia to continue military operations. "Yes, fighting is not the preferred path, but in the absence of peace prospects, we will continue until the end, until total victory," he declared to Russian state television.
The statements reflect Moscow's position of keeping diplomatic channels open with the Trump administration, while attempting to blame Ukraine and its European allies for the prolongation of the conflict, which is now in the second half of its fifth year.
The Putin government assured that it will listen to new peace proposals made by the Donald Trump administration
Peskov assured that Trump and his U.S. negotiators act with a genuine intention to find a formula that can be accepted by all parties. According to the spokesman, a proposal previously put forward by Washington had been accepted by Russia, but was ultimately rejected by Ukraine.
"The Americans, President Trump and his negotiators are sincere in their desire to formulate acceptable options for all," Peskov stated. "The option they proposed was accepted by us, but rejected by the Ukrainians."
The Kremlin maintains that European countries have negatively influenced Kiev and have contributed to preventing progress towards an agreement. Peskov stated that the United States failed to convince Ukraine because, according to his version, the Europeans were pushing it to maintain a confrontational stance.
The Kremlin spokesman stated that he believes the U.S. intentions to end the conflict are genuine
The last trilateral peace talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States took place in February, shortly before Washington and Israel went to war with Iran. Since then, the Kremlin has insisted that it hopes U.S. mediation can resume once tensions in the Middle East decrease.
In this context, senior diplomats from the United States and Russia held a brief meeting in Asia this week. Moscow has also reiterated for several weeks its willingness to host Trump’s envoys in the Russian capital to continue negotiations, although a specific date for a potential meeting has not yet been announced.
However, Peskov acknowledged that Washington's position is ambiguous for Putin's administration. On one hand, the United States continues to provide arms to Ukraine; on the other, the Trump administration publicly expresses its desire to end the conflict.
The Trump administration has expressed on numerous occasions its intentions to end the conflict through a peaceful and diplomatic solution
The Russian spokesman noted that Moscow intends to take advantage of this apparent duality when it aligns with its own interests. "We must take advantage of this duality in the Trump administration's position wherever it aligns with our interests," he stated.
Despite the differences over the supply of arms, Peskov emphasized that Trump's interest in reaching a peace agreement coincides with Moscow's objectives. The statement suggests that Putin's government seeks to preserve a diplomatic relationship with Washington and keep the U.S. president as a potential intermediary while continuing to apply military pressure on Ukraine.
The Russian stance, therefore, combines two parallel strategies: maintaining the offensive to advance towards its objectives and, at the same time, keeping the door open for new diplomatic initiatives driven by Trump. For Moscow, any eventual negotiation must start from proposals it considers acceptable, while waiting for Washington to take on an active role again in efforts to end the war.
