RT reported that on February 6, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Russia would not accept a short-term ceasefire as a solution to the conflict with Ukraine, saying that this would create conditions for Western countries to strengthen their domestic forces as well as Kiev's before the conflict flared up again.
Speaking at a regular press conference, Ms. Zakharova stressed that Moscow is only looking for a long-term solution to end the current crisis once and for all. “We need reliable agreements and legally binding mechanisms that guarantee that the crisis will not recur,” Ms. Zakharova said.
The spokesman warned that “violent retaliation” by the West and Ukraine would follow if the truce was implemented in any form.
Besides, Ms. Zakharova also noted that Moscow has begun to be cautious about the commitments that the new US administration has repeatedly declared about resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
“Everything will depend on the concrete actions and plans of the new administration. Right now, there are a lot of words, a lot of statements. But there is no clarity or precision about the concrete steps,” Ms. Zakharova explained.
Meanwhile, on February 5, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov revealed that recently, contacts between a number of agencies of the two countries have taken place and begun to be strengthened, but did not provide further details.
Last week, Mr. Trump also confirmed that the US administration is still talking to Russia, while emphasizing the goal of quickly ending the nearly three-year conflict in Ukraine.
However, according to revelations from close associates of President Trump, a plan with a strategy called "peace through strength" will be announced at the Munich Security Conference taking place from February 14-16, in Bavaria (Germany).
Key proposals in the plan include freezing the conflict to preserve the territorial status quo, while providing Ukraine with security guarantees to deter future Russian attacks. Trump’s team has stressed that a peace deal would require concessions from both Russia and Ukraine.
Moscow has repeatedly expressed its readiness to resolve the conflict through diplomatic rather than military means, while insisting that any negotiations must accept “reality on the ground.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov once stated that Russia is ready for challenging negotiations with the US but the first step must come from Washington.
