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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Sunday that Russia will not extend its Easter truce with Ukraine unless President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accepts Moscow's terms.
He also declared that NATO will not collapse despite U.S. frustration with its allies and that Russia remains ready to resume natural gas supplies to the European Union if volumes remain after deliveries to alternative markets.
Peskov said in a broadcast interview that sustainable peace with Ukraine is achievable immediately, but only on Russian terms.
"Sustainable peace can come when we secure our interests and achieve the goals we set from the very start. This can be done literally today. But Zelenskyy must accept these well-known solutions," Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies.
"Until Zelenskyy musters the courage to assume this responsibility, the special military operation will continue after the truce expires," he added.
Peskov framed the territorial dispute as narrowing, echoing language previously used by U.S. Vice President JD Vance that negotiations centered on "several square kilometers."
"This is truly a matter of a few kilometers. Roughly speaking, there is 17–18 percent of the Donetsk People's Republic left for us to liberate. And that will mean reaching the administrative borders," Peskov said in comments to Vesti journalist Pavel Zarubin.
He said President Vladimir Putin had raised this point more than a year ago and that Russian forces were "successfully advancing."
Peskov also said Russia is taking measures to protect its refineries from Ukrainian drone strikes, but acknowledged that "the enemy is cunning enough and technologies are developing rapidly."
Asked about the impact of Trump's frustration with NATO allies, particularly after the alliance failed to respond to his calls to assist in securing the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war, Peskov said the alliance was unlikely to break apart.
"NATO collapsing due to U.S. dissatisfaction with its allies does not seem possible. NATO's European component will grow one way or another," Peskov said.
He also said the U.S. had removed Europe from cheap Russian energy under the pretext of security guarantees that European countries ultimately did not receive.
"The U.S. pulled them away from us with the promise of free security, which they themselves then rejected. They also gave up on us, cheap energy from Russia, and tried to cover this renunciation with supposedly 'higher' ideological justifications," Peskov said.
Peskov said Russia was prepared to resume natural gas exports to the EU, but added conditions.
"If there are volumes remaining after supplies to alternative markets," Russia is ready to continue gas supplies to the EU, he said, according to TASS. However, he acknowledged that "Europe will find a way to buy gas even if Russia does not supply it."
Responding to a question about British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's recent remark that he was "fed up" with Trump's and Putin's actions increasing energy bills in the United Kingdom, Peskov offered an unapologetic reply.
"Yes, indeed, both Putin's and Trump's actions can lead to increases in energy bills in the United Kingdom. We should get used to this," he said.
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