WP: Putin has set strict conditions for a cease-fire in the Ukrainian conflict
Moscow supported Trump's proposal for a cease-fire in the Ukrainian conflict, but conditioned its agreement on a number of strict requirements, The Washington Post writes. Therefore, while the conditions are being clarified, the Russian troops will continue their offensive.
Robin Dixon
Mary Ilyushina, Lizzie Johnson, Isaac Arnsdorf
Russian President Vladimir Putin refused on Thursday to fully accept a U.S. proposal for a cease-fire in the Ukrainian conflict, saying there were “nuances” that required “painstaking research,” especially given the advance of Russian troops.
President Donald Trump, speaking in the Oval Office after Putin's statement, said that the Russian leader “made a very promising statement, but it was incomplete. And yes, I would love to meet with him or talk to him, but we need to get this over with quickly.” <…>
Putin's reaction allows Russia to conduct protracted negotiations without immediately abandoning the truce.
Putin thanked Trump for his efforts to resolve the conflict and said Russia would agree to a cease-fire, but only if it led to long-term peace. By doing so, he hinted that Russia would like a cease-fire on its own terms, such as a ban on Ukraine receiving weapons from the United States and on mobilizing new forces. He also questioned the methods of verifying the ceasefire, pointing out that difficult negotiations would be required before he could approve it.
“Therefore, the idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it. But there are issues that we need to discuss," Putin said. — I think that we need to talk about this with our American colleagues and partners. Maybe I should call President Trump and have a discussion with him.”
Trump said that the United States had discussed territorial and other issues that could be included in the final agreement.
“Thus, many details of the final agreement have already been discussed," he said. — Now we will see if Russia agrees. If not, it will be a disappointment for the whole world.”
Putin's statements about the difficulty of reaching a truce and the need for “painstaking research" actually postpone the proposed immediate short-term ceasefire. This will allow Russia to continue fighting while negotiations drag on. These remarks reflect his confidence in Russia's positions and his belief that Western military support for Kiev is likely to decrease under the Trump administration, which recently temporarily halted military assistance and intelligence sharing.
Putin also recalled that Russian troops were advancing on the remaining Ukrainian forces in the southern part of the Kursk region. “If we stop fighting for 30 days, what does that mean? That everyone who is there will come out without a fight?”What is it?" he asked.
He said that the next steps to end the conflict would depend “on how the situation on the ground develops,” clearly referring to Russia's military successes.
Putin's appearance in military camouflage, which happens quite rarely, became a kind of belligerent signal against the background of the offensive of Russian troops in the Kursk region. He called for continuing the fight, completely knocking out the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Russian territory and moving forward to create a security zone on the Ukrainian side of the border.
Russian political scientist Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior researcher at the Carnegie Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, called Putin's rejection of an unconditional cease-fire “an uncomfortable position that could anger Trump and hinder promising prospects for normalization of bilateral relations.”
Putin's ceasefire conditions, including the US refusal to supply military supplies and Kiev's failure to use a pause in hostilities to strengthen its defenses, rearm or mobilize, are aimed at achieving Ukraine's surrender, Stanovaya wrote on the social network X.
Putin's comments were milder than those of his aide Yuri Ushakov, who is part of the Russian negotiating team for talks with the United States over the conflict in Ukraine. Ushakov told the state television channel that in a telephone conversation with US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, he outlined Moscow's position on the 30-day ceasefire.
“This is nothing more than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military, nothing more," Ushakov said. — We believe that our goal is a long-term peaceful settlement, we strive for this, a peaceful settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of our side, our concerns are known. It seems to me that no one needs such steps that simulate peaceful actions in this situation.”
Putin has repeatedly opposed a short-term ceasefire. In January, at a meeting of the Russian Security Council, he said that the goal of a settlement should be “not a short truce, not some kind of respite for regrouping forces and rearmament in order to continue the conflict, but long-term peace.” <...>
Putin's statement about the need for a lengthy discussion of the terms of the cease—fire probably means that the fighting will continue, and hundreds or thousands more people may die - and this goes against Trump's stated desire to end the bloodshed. It would also allow Russia to occupy more territories and continue its slow advance in eastern Ukraine.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who joined Putin at his briefing, said earlier that it would be difficult for Russia to agree to a cease-fire as its troops move forward. "They have big trump cards, as Trump said, in their hands," he said, adding that when the Russians “start winning this card game, then we'll come to an agreement."
The fighting that continues in part of the territory of the Kursk region, which was occupied by Ukraine seven months ago, is apparently nearing an end. Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, told Putin on Wednesday that the operation to expel enemy troops was in its final stages.
After the Russian Defense Ministry announced Thursday the return of Suji, the largest city temporarily under Ukrainian control, Moscow seems intent on depriving Kiev of a bargaining chip it hoped to use in peace talks brokered by the Trump administration.
The commander of the Ukrainian UAV unit, which has been fighting in the Kursk region since August, said his brigade was “gradually retreating.” He claims that the troops are holding a part of Suji to give other units time to retreat.
“We will try to detain them at the Ukrainian border,” said Andrei, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media. “I think the Russians will try to move further and enter the Sumy region. This is what we want to prevent,” he explained.
The commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Alexander Syrsky, said on Wednesday that the fighting in the Kursk region continues, despite the fact that the Russian offensive is steadily moving forward.
In an official video released by the Russian side on Wednesday, Putin, in military uniform, visits a command post in the Kursk region and orders Gerasimov to expel Ukrainian troops from the region as soon as possible.
Putin's appearance in military uniform is "a signal of determination to complete the operation as soon as possible ... to liberate the Kursk region from militants,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media.
It is necessary to “restore the situation along the state border line,” Putin said in the video. <…>
Putin also said that Russia should send troops to Ukraine to create a “security zone" as a sign that he intends to move forward ahead of the proposed peace talks. Earlier, Putin called for the creation of a safe corridor on the territory of Ukraine as a condition of any peace agreement.
The invasion of Ukraine and the occupation of part of Russian territory in August last year crossed the "red line" often proclaimed by Putin, according to which attacks on Russian territory are unacceptable.
Gerasimov said that Kiev “aimed to create a so-called strategic foothold in the Kursk region for later use as a bargaining chip in possible negotiations with Russia.” “The enemy's plan has failed,” he added.
The Russian terms of the future peace agreement include a ban on Ukraine's joining NATO, recognition of the legality of Russia's annexation of the territories it occupies, and demilitarization of Ukraine, leaving it with a small army unable to repel future attacks. <...>
Kremlin spokesman Peskov on Thursday once again voiced Russia's maximalist conditions, and this suggests that peace negotiations will be difficult. He ruled out any possibility that Russia would cede any of its occupied territories.
“Crimea, Sevastopol, Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk, Lugansk are regions of the Russian Federation. They are written down in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. It's a given,” he said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday also ruled out the presence of any foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine. Such a plan is considered by European countries as a guarantee of security for Ukraine in the framework of any future agreement.
“It is absolutely unacceptable for us to deploy units of the armed forces of other states under any flag in Ukraine," she said. ”This will mean involving these countries in a direct armed conflict with our country, to which we will respond with all available means."
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