The Kremlin will only accept a solution which will resolve the crisis for good, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said

Russia will not accept a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine, since it will only be used by the collective West to reinforce Kiev until hostilities break out again, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

Moscow is seeking only a lasting solution which will put an end to the ongoing crisis, Zakharova relayed on Thursday during a regular press briefing.

“A temporary ceasefire or, as many say, freezing the conflict, is unacceptable,” she stressed. “We need reliable, legally binding agreements and mechanisms that would guarantee that the crisis will not recur.”

Zakharova warned that a mere pause in the fighting “will be used by the West – the collective West as a whole or its individual representatives – to strengthen the military potential of the Kiev regime and, of course, to attempt an armed revanche,” she warned.

Moscow maintains a reserved position on the repeated pledges by the administration of US President Donald Trump to bring the conflict to an end, Zakharova signaled. 

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“Everything will depend on specific actions and on the plans of the new administration, embodied in these very actions. Right now there are a lot of words, a lot of statements. There is no clarity or precision regarding the steps being taken,” Zakharova explained.

Earlier this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said engagement with Washington has increased since Trump took office. There have been contacts between “certain departments” of the two countries, he said, without providing any further detail.

Last Friday, Trump said that communication is ongoing between his administration and the Russian government and reiterated his goal of putting a swift end to nearly three years of hostilities.

Moscow has repeatedly signaled its willingness to settle the conflict through diplomacy, rather than on the battlefield, stating the potential negotiations must accept the “reality on the ground.”

Russia’s readiness for “tough” negotiations with the US was reaffirmed by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov. 

“The first step toward normalizing bilateral relations – based on the principles of mutual respect and equality – should be taken by the United States,” Ryabkov said, adding that the plans hatched by the administration of previous US President Joe Biden to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia have been foiled.