Kremlin declines to back 60-day ceasefire proposed by Zelenskyy for Ukrainian elections
The Kremlin has declined to endorse a proposed 60-day ceasefire that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says would allow Ukraine to hold presidential elections, instead insisting that Russia seeks a long-term peace agreement.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov made the remarks on October 12 in response to Zelenskyy's proposal for a ceasefire lasting at least 60 days.
The proposal followed US President Donald Trump's call for Ukraine to elect a new president who could negotiate an agreement to end the war.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine could hold elections if Washington secured Russia's agreement to a ceasefire lasting at least two months.
"The Kremlin has repeatedly said, both President Putin and at other levels, that we want not a ceasefire but long-term peace, and we are ready to do everything possible to achieve it," Peskov said.
His response did not amount to an acceptance of the proposed 60-day pause in fighting.
The Kremlin spokesperson also said discussions about a possible ceasefire covering energy infrastructure were continuing, but offered no details of an agreement.
On October 11, Trump announced that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to an energy ceasefire.
Zelenskyy subsequently said Kyiv supported the proposal but that Russian forces had continued attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
The scope of any proposed arrangement remains disputed. Axios reported that the US-backed proposal initially focused on oil refineries, while Ukraine has called for Russian attacks on its electricity infrastructure to stop.
No confirmed agreement between Kyiv and Moscow on either ceasefire proposal has been announced.
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