"The moratorium on Russian bombing of Ukrainian energy facilities has expired," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, quoted by Russian agencies.
The only agreement reached during the negotiations to reach a ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev, mediated by the American administration led by Donald Trump , thus appears to be falling through.
The moratorium on attacks on energy facilities – which Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of having violated anyway – was agreed upon during a direct telephone conversation between Trump himself and Vladimir Putin last March.
Peskov also said that negotiations between the US and Russia for a truce in Ukraine are "complicated, because, of course, the issue of the Ukrainian resolution is not simple." Putin's spokesman - responding to Trump's words that the United States expects a quick response from Moscow on the first proposals put forward - added that in any case "the Russian side is working to resolve this conflict, to protect its interests and is open to dialogue."
On the US side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio instead hinted that Washington could withdraw from peace efforts in Ukraine if the talks continue to stall. "We have to evaluate in the coming days whether peace is feasible or not and whether it is not possible . And we have to move forward because the United States has other priorities," said the head of American diplomacy. In effect, therefore, the negotiations have returned to a stalemate.
(Unioneonline/lf)
