Ukraine and US preparing new air ceasefire proposals for Russia, Reuters says
Ukraine and the US are discussing new proposals for an agreement with Russia to end aerial attacks as part of an initiative to revive peace talks.
Reuters, citing sources, has reported that Ukrainian and US officials have discussed a new proposal to end airstrikes, which is to be presented to Russia as part of a new initiative to restart peace talks.
A Ukrainian source told Reuters that Ukraine had previously approached Russian leader Vladimir Putin with ceasefire proposals, but they were rejected. However, some officials believe that ongoing pressure on the Russian economy from Ukrainian drone and missile strikes could soften Putin's position.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the reports, said it was too early to comment. He stated that these are just newspaper reports and nothing more, so it is premature to comment at this stage. Peskov acknowledged hearing statements that some new formulas may be possible, but said more needs to be learned. He added that what happens next will depend on how closely those formulas correspond to Russia's interests.
On 22 July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a phone call with US presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to discuss stepping up diplomatic efforts to bring peace closer. On 23 July, following a meeting between Russian and US representatives in the Philippines, Peskov said there had been no new progress in the dialogue on ending the war in Ukraine. On 25 July, in response to a proposal by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for Putin to "stop the war", Peskov said that "freezing it is impossible".
