US stresses ceasefire in Ukraine essential before further talks with Russia can go ahead

A ceasefire in Ukraine remains a precondition for any further negotiations between the United States and Russia, a spokesperson for the US State Department stressed on Thursday.

“The president’s been very clear … there is no other dynamic that’s going to be addressed or facilitated until that is dealt with”, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters at a press briefing, referring to US Donald Trump’s stalled efforts to broker even a partial, temporary ceasefire.

Bruce added that Washington saw no alternative way forward, despite Russia’s continued refusal to accept a ceasefire deal that Ukraine agreed to almost a month ago.

Given that the war in Ukraine could not be won by either side on the battlefield, Bruce said that nothing else could be discussed “until the shooting and the killing stops.”

Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at a NATO press conference that the administration would know “soon enough, in a matter of weeks, not months, whether Russia is serious about peace or not”, and a source familiar with the issue told Axios that Trump would consider imposing additional sanctions on Russia if no ceasefire is reached by the end of the month.

Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg on Friday where he met with Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev. He is expected to have a third meeting with Vladimir Putin, who is also in Russia’s second city, later on Friday.

Dmitriev, met Witkoff and other senior US officials in Washington last week, expressing optimism after the talks about the diplomatic re-engagement between the US and Russia, and the likely business opportunities that would result from it.