(Bloomberg) -- Russia rebuffed incoming US President Donald Trump's call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, while saying it's ready to hold negotiations on a long-lasting peace agreement to end almost three years of war.
“A ceasefire is a road to nowhere” that Ukraine will use to build up its military capacity, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an online news conference on Thursday. “We need conclusive, legally-binding agreements which will create all the conditions for ensuring the security of the Russian Federation and, of course, the legitimate security interests of our neighbors.”
With Ukraine on the defensive as Russia makes grinding progress on the battlefield, Trump and his advisers have given signals that President Vladimir Putin could keep de facto control of the almost 20% of Ukrainian territory his forces occupy. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has also softened his stance by suggesting his government could use diplomatic means to recover its territory.
Moscow is also demanding that Ukraine formally gives up its bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and agrees to strict limits on the size of its military, conditions that Kyiv has firmly rejected.
“I hope the Trump administration focuses on the causes of the conflict,” Lavrov said. “As President Putin said, we are ready to look at any serious, concrete proposals.”
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