However, there must be guarantees that Kiev will honor its side of the deal, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said

Russia is open to discussing a full ceasefire to end the Ukraine conflict, but for this to happen, there must be guarantees that Kiev will abide by it, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Peskov responded to comments by US President Donald Trump, who said he "would like them [Russia] to stop" their attacks on Ukraine. "I don't like the bombing, the bombing goes on and on, and every week, thousands of young people are being killed," Trump said.

Peskov stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin "supports the idea of the need for a ceasefire," but first, certain conditions must be met.

"A whole series of questions needs to be answered... This is related to the lack of control over the Kiev regime and the inability of the Kiev regime to control the actions of a number of extremist and nationalist units that simply do not obey it," he explained.

Another major issue is linked to Ukraine's plans for further militarization, Peskov said. "All these aspects are still on the agenda. While we are in solidarity with the idea of establishing a ceasefire as soon as possible, we have to secure our interests and clarify these very aspects that I have just spoken about."

Last month, following a phone call with US President Donald Trump, Putin agreed to a 30-day moratorium on strikes targeting energy infrastructure, with Ukraine also signing off on the proposal.

Moscow, however, has accused Kiev of repeatedly violating the agreement, but said it will honor it anyway, arguing that the deal in itself is a sign of improving relations with the US. At the same time, Russian officials have not ruled out symmetrical retaliation against Kiev for the energy strikes.

(RT.com)