The Kremlin said Saturday that the West had responded “disastrously” to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposals for new peace talks with Ukraine.

“There’s a lot of it, a huge amount. Asked if there was an official response to Putin’s plans for further talks with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied, “All of a destructive nature,” Russian news agencies reported.

The Russian president offered a ceasefire on Friday in exchange for Ukraine withdrawing from four territories annexed by Russia. “The tendency of the West and Kiev is to defeat us. But as you know, it failed. Today we present another concrete, real peace proposal,” Putin said in a speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry. If Ukraine withdraws from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions and renounces NATO membership, Putin said Russia would “immediately cease fire and start negotiations”.

Ukraine immediately dismissed the demands as “eyewash”. There are no real peace proposals and no desire to end the fighting, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Potoljak told the online service X. (Reuters/Red.)