The Kremlin has belatedly reacted to Washington proposals toward ending the war in Ukraine, by praising and welcoming the Trump administration's ruling out Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); however, as The Wall Street Journal reports in the wake of high-level meetings in Europe last week, Moscow "showed no urgency in reaching a deal."

"We have heard from Washington at various levels that Ukraine’s membership in NATO is out of the question," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a Monday press briefing. "This is something that satisfies us and coincides with our position."

"Ukraine should not be a member of NATO and should not have prospects for integration with it," Peskov said. "This would be a threat to the national interests of the Russian Federation. And this is one of the root causes of the conflict."

The US is reportedly waiting on the Zelensky government to respond to the package of proposals which Washington wants Kiev and Europe to accept.

Peskov signaled in his remarks that questions "especially about a time frame" are not the big priority right now, which contradicts President Trump's insistence that the two warring sides quickly get to the negotiating table with days or weeks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared Monday that Moscow has a "positive attitude" toward genuine efforts to create peace.

Zelensky is expected to convey a decision at a meeting in London later this week. He stipulated on X, "An unconditional cease-fire must be the first step toward peace, and this Easter made it clear that it is Russia’s actions that are prolonging the war."

He went to say the weekend Easter truce was but a PR smokescreen meant to fool Europe and the US on Putin's truce intentions. He accused Russia of having repeatedly violated it.

As for what's said to be another key aspect to the US plan for peace - Crimea's status - the Kremlin was more guarded on this, given final word on this from Washington apparently hasn't been conveyed.

"Anonymously sourced media reports regarding efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict should be taken with a grain of salt," Peskov warned in response to a question about potential American recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea.

"There are numerous reports circulating," Peskov stated. "The search for a peaceful resolution must not be conducted publicly... For this reason, anonymous claims should be evaluated with utmost caution."

Crimea was taken by the Kremlin in 2014 following the CIA/western-orchestrated overthrow of then president Yanukovich in the Maidan coup, and Russia subsequently held a referendum to validate its control but the international community has resisted recognizing the peninsula as Russian to avoid legitimizing the annexation.

Zelensky has lately and repeatedly stressed he will not cede territory to Moscow, and so have European leaders. He and Ukraine and some European officials argue that doing so risks undermining international laws and treaties prohibiting the taking of land through use of force.