Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia does not feel cornered by European leaders’ push for a 30-day ceasefire starting Monday, despite threats of expanded sanctions.
“Well, actually, a couple of days ago, Putin announced a ceasefire for three days. Have you heard any reaction from Kyiv? No, we haven’t heard it either,” Peskov said in an interview with CNN, published on Saturday.
“Have you heard any criticism of Kyiv for not being able to respond or not willing to respond? No,” he went on to say.
Peskov added that Russia has its own stance and is considering the proposal. “These are new developments. So, we have our own position,” he said.
Responding to a question about international pressure, Peskov stated: “If you look at history, during the old history, during the modern history, you’ll see that Russia is quite resistant to any kind of pressure.”
While expressing appreciation for US-led mediation, he warned against coercion. “We are open for dialogue, we are open for attempts to have a settlement in Ukraine. We do appreciate, and we’re very grateful from the Trump administration, of course. But at the same time, it’s quite useless to try to press on us.”
Peskov also accused European countries of direct confrontation. “Europe is actually confronting us very openly. We feel it, we know it, and we are quite accustomed to that,” he said.
Earlier on Saturday, European leaders proposed a 30-day unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine starting Monday, with monitoring to be led primarily by the US and supported by European countries, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
“In case of violations, massive sanctions will be prepared between Europeans and Americans,” Macron said in Kyiv after a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing.