MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
A top White House envoy is in Moscow today seeking Russia's response to the offer of a 30-day ceasefire. That's the same offer the U.S. brokered with Ukraine earlier this week. Under the proposal, the U.S. promised to restore military and intelligence support to Ukraine in exchange for Ukraine promising an end to attacks on Russia. The question is, would Russia reciprocate? Early signs suggest Russia remains skeptical. Joining us to talk about this is NPR Russia correspondent Charles Maynes. Charles, good morning.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: So what do we know about these talks and the Kremlin's position going into them?
MAYNES: Well, yesterday, the Kremlin spokesman said Moscow wanted to hear detailed information directly from the Americans, and today, we learned they're getting it on multiple fronts. White House special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived this morning for talks with Kremlin officials. That's his second trip to Moscow since he negotiated the release of an American school teacher last month. Meanwhile, Putin's adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said he'd been in direct telephone contact with U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz. Waltz was one of the key U.S. negotiators in talks with the Ukrainians. And Ushakov made clear Moscow found the U.S. proposal lacking.
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YURI USHAKOV: (Speaking Russian).
MAYNES: So here, Ushakov says Russia saw the ceasefire as simply an opportunity for Ukraine to regroup and rearm. And he went on to repeat that Moscow wants a long-term end to the conflict that takes into account Russia's security interests, something the Kremlin has said often, frankly.
MARTIN: All right. So, look, it's a negotiation. But does this mean - does this - I don't know what you want to call this sort of signaling - mean that the ceasefire proposal is already - has already failed, that the talks are over before they began?
MAYNES: Not necessarily. I mean, that's what Witkoff is in Moscow to discuss. But clearly, these two sides are far apart. Keep in mind, Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said quite explicitly he would not accept a temporary ceasefire because he wanted a peace that addressed, in his words, the root of the conflict. Now, that's Kremlin-speak for Russia's demands that NATO retreat from Russia's borders and, of course, forego Ukraine. There's also this.
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PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Speaking Russian).
MAYNES: So last night, Putin - dressed in military camouflage with state media cameras in tow - visited army headquarters in the Russian region of Kursk. Now, that's where Russian troops appear to be finally on the verge of driving out occupying Ukrainian forces who've been there for months. So this was essentially a propaganda tour. And while Putin made no mention of the Ukrainian ceasefire offer, it certainly felt like he was signaling he preferred a military solution. He told his generals to essentially crush the enemy.
MARTIN: So is the message here, or is the message what he's trying to signal is why bother negotiating over what you're winning anyway?
MAYNES: Well, that's certainly the point made by more nationalist voices inside Russian society. They say this proposal by Ukraine is really an attempt to use diplomacy to stave off defeat militarily. The catch is that while that may be true in Kursk, where it seems as though Russian forces are genuinely making big gains, it's a harder slog in actual occupied Ukraine. Meanwhile polls show a majority of Russians want an end to the conflict in some fashion. And so given that, you know, does Putin risk alienating Donald Trump, given what, at least so far, has been a very favorable climate of negotiations?
MARTIN: Well, to that end that Trump has been criticized so far for seeming to cut a deal almost exclusively on Moscow's terms, has that changed?
MAYNES: Well, we'll have to see. You know, Trump has suggested at times that he'll get tough with Moscow through new sanctions if the Kremlin fails to sign on to this deal. The Trump team has already gone on record also saying no to Ukraine's membership in NATO, no to Ukraine regaining all its territory, and it's put its - in doubt its commitments to European allies. So you have to think that even if Putin doesn't agree with the ceasefire deal as it's presented now, he'll be looking for ways to present counteroffers and keep the White House engaged.
MARTIN: That is NPR Russia correspondent Charles Maynes. Charles, thank you.
MAYNES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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