The Kremlin on Wednesday denied a report by Reuters that President Vladimir Putin had proposed a ceasefire in Ukraine to the United States.
Citing three anonymous Russian sources with knowledge of the discussions, the news agency said Putin offered to “freeze the conflict at the current lines” in 2023.
The United States reportedly rejected Putin’s offer, which Reuters said came via Russia’s partners in the Middle East and others.
“No, it’s not true,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a daily telephone briefing.
Media reports in recent months have described alleged backchannel signals from Russia to the U.S. to find a resolution to the war in Ukraine as the bloody two-year conflict grinds into a stalemate.
Reuters’ report cited an anonymous U.S. official who denied engagement in any “backchannel discussions” with Russia to avoid “going behind the back” of Ukraine.
The news agency’s three Russian sources said Moscow’s and Washington’s intermediaries had met in Turkey in late 2023.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed not to enter negotiations with Russia as long as Putin is in power.
