A Russian think tank suggested Moscow should play hardball in negotiations concerning its war in Ukraine and dismissed President Donald Trump's plans for a relatively quick peace deal as "impossible to realize," it was reported.
A document produced by the think tank, which is close to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), said "a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis cannot happen before 2026," The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The FSB's Fifth Service oversees operations in Ukraine.
The think tank also said the Kremlin should fuel tensions with the Trump administration as a way to weaken the U.S. negotiating position and insisted President Vladimir Putin's country retains the Ukrainian territories it has seized, the outlet added.
Not only that, the document called for the creation of a buffer zone in Ukraine's northeast on the border with Russian regions such as Bryansk and Belgorod, and a demilitarized zone in southern Ukraine near Crimea, which Russia illegally took in 2014.
The Post report came after Ukraine signaled it would accept a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, pending Moscow's agreement, American and Ukrainian officials said Tuesday after talks in Saudi Arabia.
However, the Kremlin responded cautiously to the news of Ukraine accepting the U.S.-proposed truce during Tuesday's talks in Saudi Arabia, saying that it needs to know details of the discussions before expressing its view.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that U.S. negotiators were on their way to Russia, but he wouldn't comment on Moscow's view on the ceasefire proposal.
Reuters reported Wednesday that Russia has presented the U.S. with a list of demands for a deal to end its war against Ukraine and reset relations with the U.S.
The think tank document, written in February, opposed any plan to dispatch peacekeepers to Ukraine, and called for "the complete dismantling" of Kyiv's current government.
Trump campaigned on trying to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, and doing so was among his top priorities after taking office.
The Post report, though, indicated Putin and Russia want a deal on their terms.
Russia is "not interested in an early resolution of the Ukraine crisis," said Thomas Graham, a senior director for Russia at the National Security Council under President George W. Bush, told the Post.
"They consistently talk about the root causes, which, as you know, are about the domestic politics in Ukraine, and even more important than that, the European security architecture, which would be the role of NATO. And a simple ceasefire which doesn't take that into account is of no interest to Russia. And Trump doesn't appear to understand."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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