JAKARTA - The Kremlin said on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump did not support European-Ukrainian efforts for a temporary ceasefire before a settlement, and said Moscow thought Kyiv needed to make a decision on Donbas.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the phone conversation between the two leaders lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes, taking place at the request of President Trump ahead of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"The main thing is that the Russian and American presidents have the same view, the option of a temporary ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and Europe under the pretext of preparing for a referendum or under other pretexts will only prolong the conflict and be full of new hostilities," Ushakov explained, launching Al Arabiya from Reuters (29/12).
Further, Ushakov said, in order for the battle to end, Kyiv needs to make a "brave decision" in accordance with the Russian-US discussions on Donbas.
"Given the current situation on the front lines, it would make sense for the Ukrainian regime to make this decision regarding Donbas," he said.
Russia, which controls 90 percent of Donbas, wants Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the 10 percent of territory still held by Kyiv forces. Overall, Russia controls about a fifth of Ukraine's territory.
President Trump is known to have repeatedly promised to end the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II. Special envoys, Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, have negotiated with Russia, Ukraine and European powers.
Ukraine and its European allies fear President Trump could betray Ukraine and let European powers bear the cost of supporting a devastated Ukraine after Russian forces seized 12-17 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory per day in 2025.
"Donald Trump listened carefully to Russia's assessment of the real prospects for reaching an agreement," Ushakov said.
"Trump constantly pursues the idea, it is very important to end the war as soon as possible, and talks about the prospect of impressive economic cooperation between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine that is opening up," he said.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
