Russian President Vladimir Putin, after about two hours of talks with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, the 18th of March, agreed to temporarily halt attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities, but refused to support a full 30-day ceasefire, which Trump hoped would be the first step towards a permanent peace agreement, reports Reuters.
The agreement requires the two countries to refrain from attacking each other’s energy infrastructure for about a month.
US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said US talks on Ukraine would continue on Sunday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and would focus on a ceasefire in the Black Sea as well as a full ceasefire and a permanent peace agreement.
It was not clear whether Ukraine would be involved in these talks.
After his talks with Trump, Putin ordered the Russian armed forces to stop attacks on energy facilities, the Kremlin said.
But Putin expressed concern that the temporary ceasefire could allow Ukraine to rearm and mobilise more troops, and reiterated his demand that any resolution should call for an end to all military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine, the Kremlin said in a statement.
Trump told Fox News that aid to Ukraine was not discussed in the two-hour conversation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country would support a proposal to suspend strikes on energy facilities and infrastructure for 30 days.
HE SAID THAT RUSSIA FIRED MORE THAN 40 DRONES LATE ON TUESDAY, HITTING A HOSPITAL IN SUMY AND OTHER AREAS, INCLUDING THE KYIV REGION.
“Today Putin de facto rejected the proposal for a full ceasefire. It would be right if the world, in response, rejected any attempts by Putin to delay the war,” Zelenskyy said in a Telegram message.
Trump spoke positively about his conversation with Putin.
“We had a great conversation. It lasted almost two hours,” Trump said on Fox News.
But the US President did not get what he wanted. Ukraine, which Trump had earlier described as a country that is more difficult to deal with, had agreed to the US proposal for a full 30-day ceasefire. But Putin did not agree.
“This call revealed how difficult a negotiating partner Russia will be, and Russia’s general unwillingness to talk about real progress in stopping this war,” said Kristine Berzina, managing director of the German Marshall Fund think tank. She called the partial ceasefire “a very small step forward”.
Since Russia’s invasion in 2022, Ukraine has been trying to fight against its much larger neighbour by targeting Russian energy facilities with drones and missiles, putting pressure on Moscow’s economy.
Stopping such attacks would only benefit Russia, said Maria Snegovaya of the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
AFTER THE PHONE CALL, TRUMP SAID IN A “TRUTH SOCIAL” POST THAT HE AND PUTIN HAD AGREED TO WORK QUICKLY TOWARDS A CEASEFIRE AND EVENTUALLY A PERMANENT PEACE TREATY.
“Many elements of the peace agreement were discussed, including the fact that thousands of soldiers are being killed, and both President Putin and President Zelenskyy would like to see an end to this,” he wrote.
Trump has indicated that a permanent peace agreement could include territorial concessions by Kyiv and the return of control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to Russia. Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine’s sovereignty is non-negotiable and that Russia must return the territory it has seized.
Zelenskyy, who arrived on Tuesday for an official visit to Helsinki shortly after the end of the Trump-Putin talks, said that Europe should be included in the peace talks.
Russian forces are gaining ground in eastern Ukraine and are gradually pushing Ukrainian troops out of Russia’s Kursk region. The agreement on a partial ceasefire reflects Trump’s desire to normalise relations with Russia and suggests that Putin may be trying to buy time, said Susan Colbourn of Duke University.
“TRUMP IS ASKING VERY LITTLE OF RUSSIA EVEN THOUGH IT INVADED ITS NEIGHBOUR,” SHE SAID.
The US President’s growing closeness to Putin since returning to the White House in January has unnerved US allies.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that Russia has significantly increased its military production for a possible future conflict with European countries.
At a press conference in Berlin, French President Emmanuel Macron and outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the partial ceasefire an important first step, but reiterated their call for a full ceasefire, stressing that Ukraine must be part of any final decision.