The former Russian diplomat was speaking as U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow for discussions on the proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine — a truce the White House hopes will pave the way to a larger and comprehensive peace settlement to end Russia’s three-year-old full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Kremlin officials have already cast doubt on the proposal. A Putin foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov — who participated last month in a meeting with U.S. negotiators in Saudi Arabia — described the proposed ceasefire as “a hasty document.”

Trump has warned Moscow against stalling on the Ukraine ceasefire and on Wednesday threatened Russia with significant financial consequences if it fails to sign on to the agreement, brokered during negotiations earlier this week between American and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed Thursday that American negotiators were arriving to explain the ceasefire proposal. “Contacts are planned,” Peskov told reporters in the Russian capital. “We will not prejudge,” Peskov added.

He didn’t say whether Witkoff would meet with Putin himself, nor if the Kremlin has already produced a list of its own demands.

Bondarev said he doesn’t think Putin is afraid of Trump. “He’s not afraid of irritating him but maybe he will tell him, ‘OK, it’s a great idea. I’d love to stop fighting. But I need some minor questions to be solved prior to the ceasefire. If you, Donald, want this deal, if you do want it, well, let’s do some minor arrangements before we start talking,’” he said.