Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have rejected the possibility of a complete ceasefire in Ukraine, saying that Kiev would use any break in the fighting to rearm, AFP reported.

Ukraine insists on an unconditional and immediate 30-day truce, presenting its latest proposal to Moscow on June 2 during peace talks in Istanbul.

“Why should we reward them by giving them a break from the fighting, which will be used to supply the regime with Western weapons so that it can continue its forced mobilization and prepare various terrorist acts,” Putin said during a government meeting.

During the June 2 talks, Russia outlined maximalist demands for such a ceasefire, including Ukraine's complete withdrawal from four regions in the east and south of the country that Moscow claims to have annexed.

Putin also accused Ukraine of being behind “terrorist” attacks on bridges in its border regions over the weekend, including one that derailed a train, killing seven people.

That attack, for which Ukraine has not claimed responsibility, was “aimed at derailing the negotiation process,” Putin said.

Instead, on June 2, Russia proposed a brief two- or three-day truce to allow the two armies to collect the bodies of soldiers killed in battle.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov informed Putin that Kiev had rejected this idea.

“I think this is simply a gross mistake on the part of the regime in Kiev,” he said.

The chief negotiator on the Russian side, Vladimir Medinsky, confirmed that Moscow was ready to proceed with a large-scale prisoner exchange agreed in Istanbul on June 7-9, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the first stage would take place over the weekend. | BGNES