Russia recognizes the efforts by the United States to move towards a quick ceasefire in Ukraine, but that is unacceptable for Moscow and threatens serious consequences for Russia-US relations, RIA news agency reported on Monday.
"We can recognize with sufficient confidence the desire of the American side to move towards a quick ceasefire," RIA cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying in remarks published on Monday.
"But ... a ceasefire without a long-term settlement is the path to a swift resumption of fighting and a resumption of the conflict with even more serious consequences, including consequences for Russian-American relations. We do not want this."
"As of today, we have no further understanding... We need to find a long-term solution, which, in turn, must necessarily include an element of overcoming the root causes of what happened in and around Ukraine," Ryabkov said.