Russia says current ceasefire in Ukraine is unrealistic
A ceasefire in Ukraine is unrealistic at this stage, Russia's representative to the United Nations said.
According to RIA Novosti on April 18, Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya told journalists after a closed consultation of the United Nations Security Council that the ceasefire in Ukraine is still not practical.
"We have made a limited ceasefire attempt related to energy infrastructure, but the Ukrainian side has not complied with it. In these circumstances, talking about a ceasefire at this stage is completely unrealistic," said Representative Nebenzya.
Commenting on the need to formalize possible agreements between Russia and Ukraine at the UN Security Council, the diplomat noted that everything will depend on the conditions of a possible ceasefire and the wording of the document.
“We have a resolution calling for an end to the conflict, adopted at the initiative of the United States. Let's see what exactly needs to be done at the Security Council, if we reach any agreement. It all depends on the conditions of a possible ceasefire and the language of the document,” Nebenzya said.
On March 18, during a conversation with his US counterpart Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded positively to the idea of the conflicting parties jointly refraining from attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days and ordered the military to do so. On the Ukrainian side, President Volodymyr Zelensky also promised to support this proposal.
On March 24, a meeting of expert groups from Russia and the United States took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, lasting more than 12 hours. At the meeting, the parties agreed to suspend attacks on energy facilities in Russia and Ukraine.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine has violated the agreement on a daily basis since then, despite public statements in support of the Russian-US agreement to end such attacks.
The press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, stated that Kiev practically did not participate in the order to halt attacks on infrastructure facilities.