Putin’s key to peace: end military aid and intelligence to Ukraine

Vladimir Putin agrees to halt attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure but says his ‘key condition’ for peace is that foreign military aid and intelligence to Ukraine must stop. However, Donald Trump claims ‘we didn’t talk about aid at all’.

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump spoke by phone for at least an hour and a half. Picture: AFP

Vladimir Putin is demanding the complete cessation of foreign military aid and intelligence information to Ukraine as the “key condition” for securing an enduring peace to end the conflict in Eastern Europe following his call with US President Donald Trump.

While no deal was reached for a full 30-day ceasefire, both leaders agreed that the movement towards peace in Eastern Europe should begin with a pause on attacks on energy infrastructure while pursuing negotiations for a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea.

In their second official phone call since the inauguration of the US President on January 20, the White House readout of the discussion revealed that both leaders had agreed on the need for the conflict to “end with a lasting peace.”

However, the Kremlin’s readout of the call said that the Russian leader “emphasised that the key condition for preventing the escalation of the conflict and working towards its resolution through political and diplomatic means should be the complete cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv.”

Speaking on Fox News on Tuesday evening (local time), Mr Trump denied this. The US President said that “we didn’t talk about aid. Actually we didn’t talk about aid at all”.

In the call – which was reported to have lasted about two hours – both leaders agreed to improve their bilateral relations and Mr Trump proposed that both Moscow and Kyiv refrain from attacks on energy infrastructure facilities for 30 days.

The White House readout said that the leaders “agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace.”

“These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East,” the readout said.

The Kremlin’s much longer readout of the call made clear that Mr Putin expressed concerns over how to ensure effective control over a possible ceasefire along the entire line of combat contact.

He accused the “Kyiv regime” of repeatedly sabotaging and violating agreements and said that Ukrainian militants had committed “barbaric terrorist crimes” in the Kursk region.

The Russian leader was also standing by his conditions to “take into account the absolute need to eliminate the root causes of the crisis” as well as “Russia’s legitimate interests in the area of security.”

After being told details of the call, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Kremlin was not ready to end its invasion of Ukraine and that its ultimate aim in talks on halting the conflict was to “weaken” his country.

“They are not ready to end this war, and we can see that. They are not ready even for the first step, which is a ceasefire,” Mr Zelensky said, adding of Mr Putin that “his whole game is to weaken” Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky said he was favourable to the truce on strikes against energy infrastructure, but needed more “details” from Washington first.

“After we get the details from the US president, from the US side, we will give our answer,” he said, adding that the US should be “guarantors” and “our side will maintain it” as long as Russia stuck to a ceasefire.

Nevertheless, it was clear the phone call between Mr Trump and Mr Putin helped to reset relations between Washington and Moscow, with the two leaders talking more broadly about issues beyond the Ukraine conflict, including the Middle East.

The White House readout said that Mr Trump and Mr Putin “further discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons and will engage with others to ensure the broadest possible application.”

“The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel,” it said.

Mr Trump and Mr Putin agreed that an improved bilateral relationship between America and Russia would come with a “huge upside” and include “enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved”.

The Russian readout said also acknowledged that both leaders continued a “detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine” and that Mr Putin “expressed gratitude to Donald Trump for his desire to help achieve the noble goal of ending hostilities and human losses.”

The Kremlin said that Mr Putin “confirmed his fundamental commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict” as well as his “readiness to work together with his American partners to thoroughly explore possible ways of resolving the conflict, which should be comprehensive, sustainable and long-term”.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. Picture: AFP

The Russian leader said he was ready to be guided by humanitarian considerations and, in the event of their surrender, would guarantee the lives and decent treatment of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers.

According to the Kremlin readout, it was Mr Trump who put forward the proposal for Moscow and Ukraine to “mutually refrain from attacks on energy infrastructure facilities for 30 days” – a suggestion to which Mr Putin responded positively.

He “immediately gave the Russian military the corresponding order”.

“The Russian President also responded constructively to Donald Trump’s idea of implementing a well-known initiative concerning the safety of navigation in the Black Sea. It was agreed to begin negotiations to further elaborate specific details of such an agreement,” the Kremlin said.

Members of the Ukrainian Military take part in a trench field training exercise in an undisclosed location in the eastern region of Ukraine on March 18. Picture: AFP

Mr Putin said that on March 19, a prisoner exchange would also be carried out between the Russian and Ukrainian sides – 175 for 175 people.

He also made clear that, “as a gesture of goodwill,” 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian servicemen who were being treated in Russian medical institutions would be transferred.

In order to advance the efforts aimed at achieving a settlement to end the war, Russian and American “expert groups” were also being established.

Like the White House readout, the Kremlin made clear that the talks between Mr Trump and Mr Putin “touched upon other issues on the international agenda, including the situation in the Middle East and the Red Sea region.”

“Joint efforts will be made to stabilise the situation in crisis areas, establish co-operation on nuclear non-proliferation and global security. This, in turn, will contribute to improving the overall atmosphere of Russian-American relations,” the readout said. “One positive example is the joint vote in the UN on the resolution on the Ukrainian conflict.”

The Kremlin said that Russia and the United States had a role to ensure security and stability in the world and, in this context, “a wide range of areas in which our countries could establish interaction was considered.”

“A number of ideas were discussed that are moving towards the development of mutually beneficial co-operation in the economy and energy sector,” it said.

Mr Trump agreed to support Mr Putin’s idea to organise ice hockey matches in both the US and Russia and the two leaders agreed to “remain in contact on all issues raised.”

Senior Advisor on Defence at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Mark Cancian, said the phone call was a “step in the right direction” but cautioned that a peace settlement could still be years away.

“They are going to stop attacks on energy and infrastructure in each other’s countries and both of them are very destructive. And there’s a process to move to the next step, talk about a maritime ceasefire, a full ceasefire and a peace settlement,” he told The Australian.

“If they can get a ceasefire, a full ceasefire, at least the destruction and loss of life will stop. But to get to a complete agreement could take years. It may never happen,” he said.

Mr Cancian – who previously worked on force structure and acquisition issues in the Office of the Secretary of Defence – told The Australian a final outcome could resemble the Korean War where “they signed an armistice and they just never moved beyond it.”

He said Mr Putin was entitled to put his terms forward – including the ending of foreign military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine – but made clear these terms would not be accepted by America.

“That would be a huge obstacle and Putin has said that before,” Mr Cancian said.

“The problem is that Putin would continue to rearm. His factories continue to produce weapons and munitions and he would presumably continue to get them from Iran and North Korea … Russia would end up with a very, very lopsided military balance.”

He said the great fear that everyone has is that the war “would renew at some point, so, yes, that is a huge problem.”

Statement from the White House on President Trump’s call with President Putin

Today, President Trump and President Putin spoke about the need for peace and a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. Both leaders agreed this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace. They also stressed the need for improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia. The blood and treasure that both Ukraine and Russia have been spending in this war would be better spent on the needs of their people.

This conflict should never have started and should have been ended long ago with sincere and good faith peace efforts. The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace. These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East.

The leaders spoke broadly about the Middle East as a region of potential co-operation to prevent future conflicts. They further discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons and will engage with others to ensure the broadest possible application. The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel.

The two leaders agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has huge upside. This includes enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved.