The Kremlin on Tuesday warned Ukraine’s new President Volodymyr Zelensky against asking Washington for more sanctions against Russia, suggesting it would not help his efforts to end the war in the east.

Zelensky was sworn in as Ukraine’s president on Monday and said his top priority was ending the conflict with Russia-backed insurgents in the east, which has claimed some 13,000 lives since 2014.

In a meeting with US officials on Monday, Zelensky called on Washington to support Ukraine and introduce more sanctions against Moscow.

“This is the rhetoric that will not help Ukraine to sort out the problem of the southeast,” said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, referring to the separatist conflict in the ex-Soviet country’s industrial east.

Source: AFP