Stopping military aid and intelligence sharing with Kiev is crucial for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, the Foreign Ministry has said
Moscow hopes that Washington will pay attention to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s requirements for establishing a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict, which include a halt to military aid and intelligence sharing with Kiev, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
Earlier this week, Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump held a lengthy phone call to discuss the Ukraine conflict, during which the Russian president listed a number of conditions for а diplomatic resolution of the crisis. Both leaders agreed to continue negotiations to further refine the details of a future ceasefire.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Zakharova reiterated that the demand to stop military support for Ukraine is “a fundamental point for a political and diplomatic settlement,” and said that Moscow “hopes that the US has heard” Russia’s position on the matter.
Following his public spat with Vladimir Zelensky in the White House earlier this month, Trump temporarily halted all US military support for Ukraine and cut off intelligence sharing with Kiev. However, Washington announced it would reverse the decision after a meeting between US and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia, where Kiev agreed to a 30-day ceasefire with Russia.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon confirmed that all US military aid to Ukraine and intelligence sharing had been “turned back on.”
Zakharova criticized the move, stressing that US weapons deliveries to Ukraine “run counter to the declared intentions to achieve peace and move everything into the mainstream of a political and diplomatic settlement.”
“Whoever wants peace will, naturally, advocate for an end to the militarization of the terrorist gang,” Zakharova added, referring to the authorities in Kiev.
While Russia did not agree to an immediate truce on the ground after Tuesday’s Putin-Trump phone call, Moscow consented to a month-long mutual suspension of strikes on energy infrastructure. Kiev reciprocated and said it would also halt such long-range strikes.
On Wednesday, however, Moscow accused Kiev of violating the agreement after the Ukrainian military allegedly targeted an energy facility deep inside Russia.
Zakharova has said that the attack was “yet another provocation” aimed at disrupting peace initiatives put forward by the US, and proof of Zelensky’s “complete inability to negotiate.”
