US issues ultimatum to Russia and Ukraine on ceasefire

The talks between Russia and Ukraine on ending the war in Washington appear to be running out of steam. US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce made the following statement at a press conference on April 29.

"We have now reached a situation where both sides must present clear and sincere proposals to end the conflict. President Trump will make the decision on what happens next. If there is no tangible progress in the negotiations, we will abandon our role as mediator in this process," Bruce said in his speech.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a three-day ceasefire starting on May 8 in honor of May 9 - Victory Day, but Moscow categorically rejected the option of a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US and Ukraine.

State Department spokesman Bruce stressed that Washington is not demanding a three-day, but a full and permanent ceasefire.

US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have also spoken about the possibility of the US withdrawing from the process if the talks do not yield results soon. In particular, Trump, in an interview with The Atlantic on April 24, expressed his serious approach to the situation, saying, "We will see what happens next week, we are close to the border."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also expressed regret in an interview with NBC News on April 27 that Russia and Ukraine have not shown sufficient will for a ceasefire, saying, "Next week will be decisive. We need to determine very quickly whether we continue to participate in the peace process or whether it is time to turn our attention to other issues."

Analysts believe that Washington is proposing peace terms in this conflict that are more in line with the interests of the Kremlin. The US is ready to recognize Crimea de jure, as well as four Ukrainian regions occupied by Russian troops since 2022, as de facto Russian. In addition, Moscow's demand that Ukraine not become a member of NATO has been accepted.

However, despite this, the Kremlin is reluctant to agree to a ceasefire on the condition of completely disarming the Ukrainian armed forces. Especially since Donald Trump, who promised to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours during his election campaign, does not like Putin's attempts to sabotage the ceasefire.

At the same time, Trump also does not support Ukraine's demands to return Crimea and four other territories, considering them "nonsense".

According to DW radio, citing the Financial Times, US officials who have spoken with Kremlin representatives and Putin himself several times over the past two months are convinced that the negotiations have reached an impasse.

According to sources, the Trump administration is frustrated that it has failed to persuade Putin to accept a ceasefire despite making very big and generous proposals on the Ukraine issue, as he has not backed down from his plan to invade all of Ukraine. This further increases the likelihood that the US will walk away from the talks. Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!