Russia signals ‘little optimism’ on resolving crisis as the West races to shore up support for Ukraine

A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said Thursday there is “little optimism” about ending Russia’s confrontation with United States and NATO over Ukraine after the allies rejected Moscow’s key demands, but he opened the path for further high-level talks.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said Putin has studied the proposals and will respond quickly — raising the prospect of further dialogue, even as more Western military aid arrives in Ukraine amid fears that Russia could attack at any time.

The handover of the U.S. and NATO proposals is an important development in the crisis. In the balance is whether Putin blinks and accepts the limited wins offered to Moscow by the alliance — rather than the grand bargain on rolling back NATO that he demands — or whether he will double down with the “military-technical” solution he has threatened to deal with what he calls Western “aggression.”