Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine to freeze the war has been rejected by the United States after talks between mediators, three Russian sources familiar with the talks told Reuters.

The failure of Putin’s proposal comes as the war in Ukraine, considered Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, enters its third year and shows just how far apart the views of the world’s two major nuclear powers are.

A source in the US denied any official contacts and said that Washington would not participate in the talks without the participation of Ukraine.

In 2023, Putin sent signals to Washington publicly and privately through intermediaries, including Moscow’s Arab partners in the Middle East and others, that he was willing to consider a ceasefire in Ukraine, Russian sources said.

Putin had proposed freezing the conflict as it stands and was reluctant to cede any Ukrainian territory controlled by Russia, but the signal offered what some Kremlin officials believed was the best path to any peace.

“Contacts with the Americans have been fruitless,” a Russian source with knowledge of the talks in late 2023 and early 2024 told Reuters on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

A second Russian source familiar with the contacts told Reuters that the Americans told Moscow through intermediaries that they would not discuss a possible ceasefire without Ukraine’s participation, so the contacts ended in failure.

A third source familiar with the negotiations said: “Everything fell apart with the Americans.” The source said that the Americans do not want to put pressure on Ukraine.

The extent of the contacts, as well as their failure, had not been previously reported.

The news came as US President Joe Biden spent months trying to get Congress to approve aid to Ukraine, but faced opposition from Donald Trump’s allies.

The Americans claim that they do not discuss without the involvement of Ukrainians

The Kremlin, the White House, the US State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) declined to comment.

Ukraine says it is fighting for its existence, while the West sees Putin’s invasion as an imperial-style territorial grab that challenges the post-Cold War international order.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated that he would never agree to Russia’s withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine and refused any contacts with Russia.

A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the United States had not held any informal talks with Russia and that Washington had consistently made no moves without Ukraine’s knowledge.

A US official said there appeared to be informal “Track II” talks between non-governmental Russians, but the United States was not involved.

The U.S. official said Putin’s proposal, based on what has been made public, did not change from previous demands that Russia remain on Ukrainian territory. The official suggested that Moscow appeared to be frustrated that Washington had repeatedly refused to accept it.

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