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Russia said Thursday it would not accept a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine, rejecting proposals of a one-month halt in fighting or a stop in aerial and naval attacks — ideas floated by Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Talk of a possible truce is at a fever pitch with U.S. President Donald Trump pushing for a rapid end to the conflict and having halted the supply of arms and intelligence to Ukraine, hobbling its capacity to fight off the Russian offensive.
Zelensky has called for an immediate halt to attacks in the sky and at sea as the first stage of a possible peace deal.
Macron told France’s Le Figaro newspaper on Sunday that Paris and London were proposing a one-month truce to cover attacks “in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure.”
But Moscow on Thursday appeared to rule out any temporary or piecemeal ceasefire.
“Firm agreements on a final settlement are needed. Without all that, some kind of respite is absolutely unacceptable,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters in a televised briefing.
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“We are dealing with an attempt [by Ukrainian forces] to achieve a respite at any cost” and “to prevent the collapse of the front,” she continued.
Ukraine would “use this pause, with the help of its allies, to strengthen its military potential,” Zakharova added.
Ahead of possible talks on a settlement to Mopscow’s full-scale invasion, Russian officials have stuck to their hardline demands.
Officials have ruled out ceding captured Ukrainian territory, have said a European peacekeeping force is a non-starter and have repeated their desire to roll-back NATO’s presence across Europe.
Trump’s suspension of military aid to Ukraine has hardened fears in Kyiv and across Europe that Ukraine could be forced to accept a peace on terms favorable to Moscow.
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