The freezing of U.S. military aid to Ukraine will likely encourage Kyiv to hold peace talks with Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on March 4.
A White House official told The Epoch Times on Monday that the United States had suspended military assistance to Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump “has been clear that he is focused on peace,” the White House official said. “We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid [to Ukraine] to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”
Peskov told reporters the United States “has been the main supplier of this war so far,” and halting U.S. military aid to Ukraine would help end the conflict.
“If this is true, then this is a decision that can really encourage the Kyiv regime to [come to] the peace process,” Peskov said. “If the United States stops ... these supplies, it will probably be the best contribution to the cause of peace.”
According to Peskov, Moscow has welcomed recent statements by Trump in which he voiced a desire to end the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which recently entered its fourth year.
“We hear his statement about his desire to bring peace to Ukraine, and this is welcome,” Peskov said. “We see certain things and receive certain information about the proposed actions in this direction. This is also welcome.”
The spokesman said that Moscow would “continue to see how the situation develops in reality.”
Zelenskyy Rules out Peace in Short-Term
The reported suspension of U.S. assistance comes days after a dramatic clash at the White House between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.At a Feb. 28 meeting in the Oval Office, Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of “gambling with World War III” and warned that if Kyiv refused to make compromises it risked forfeiting U.S. support.
Since the conflict began in 2022, the United States has provided Ukraine with at least $175 billion in aid, including financial assistance and a wide range of military hardware.
After meeting the leaders of Britain and France on March 2, Zelenskyy told reporters that any resolution of the conflict was still “very far away.”
Responding on his Truth Social platform, Trump described the remark as “the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy.”
The Ukrainian leader, he said, “doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing.”
Trump, who has described himself as a “peacemaker,” returned to the White House in January—after a four-year hiatus—promising to quickly end the conflict.
On Feb. 12, he held a landmark phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he later described as “highly productive.”
Days later, U.S. and Russian officials, including both countries’ top diplomats, held a first round of talks in Saudi Arabia to discuss means of ending the conflict.
On Feb. 27, officials from both countries held another meeting in Istanbul, where they agreed on a range of measures aimed at normalizing diplomatic relations.
In recent weeks, both sides have repeatedly said that preparations were underway for a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin.
On March 4, Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said further U.S.-Russia talks were “unlikely” until both countries’ respective embassies resumed normal operations.
“We only have one plan,” Shmyhal said. “To win and to survive.”
