Trump's top envoy arrives in Russia to present Ukraine ceasefire proposal
Moscow, Russia - US negotiators travelled to Russia on Thursday to present their plan for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, as Washington pushed Moscow for an "unconditional" pause to the three-year conflict.
Russia has been grinding forward on the battlefield for over a year, claiming on Thursday to have driven Ukraine from the town of Sudzha in its Kursk region.
Earlier this week, Kyiv agreed to a US ceasefire proposal to halt fighting, but Moscow has asked Washington to present details before indicating whether it is acceptable.
Russian news agencies reported Thursday that a plane linked to President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff had landed at Vnukovo-2, a Moscow airport terminal often used to accept foreign dignitaries.
An official source later confirmed Witkoff's presence to the AFP.
"Negotiators are flying in and indeed contacts are scheduled," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, without saying who was part of the US team.
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov spoke to US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz by phone the day before, Peskov added.
Ushakov on Thursday criticized the US-Ukrainian ceasefire proposal, saying it would just be "nothing more than a temporary breather for the Ukrainian military."
Russia sets out conditions for ceasefire
Trump has expressed optimism that US negotiators can secure a ceasefire, even as Kyiv and Moscow trade almost daily aerial attacks.
"People are going to Russia right now as we speak. And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia," Trump told reporters on Wednesday during an Oval Office meeting with Ireland's prime minister Micheal Martin.
Setting out its red lines, Russia on Thursday ruled out foreign peacekeepers being deployed to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire or long-term security guarantee.
"It is absolutely unacceptable to us that army units of other states are stationed in Ukraine under any flag," foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a briefing.
"Be it a foreign contingent and a military base... all this would mean the involvement of these countries in a direct armed conflict with our country."
Russia also wants sanctions to be lifted as part of any deal as it grapples with distortions in its economy.
Peskov said Moscow considered the sanctions "illegal," but would not go into detail about possible talks on the matter ahead of the negotiations.
"Let us not get ahead of ourselves," he added.
Cover photo: IMAGO / SNA