Kremlin denies Reuters report that Putin offered a ceasefire in Ukraine

[February 14, 2024]  MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Wednesday denied a Reuters report that Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a ceasefire in Ukraine to the United States via intermediaries. 

Asked if the Reuters report that Russia had made peace proposals was true, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "No. It is not true."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov looks on during a visit of CIS heads of state to the Catherine Palace at the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum and Reserve in Saint Petersburg, Russia December 26, 2023. Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Kremlin via REUTERS/file photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent signals to Washington in 2023 in public and privately through intermediaries, including through Moscow's Arab partners in the Middle East, that he was ready to consider a ceasefire in Ukraine, Russian sources told Reuters.

Intermediaries met in Turkey in late 2023, according to three Russian sources, and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan telephoned Putin's foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, in January.

(Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Mark Trevelyan/Guy Faulconbridge)

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