Trump, Putin agree halt to Ukraine energy attacks but no ceasefire, so when will there be peace?
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke for 90 minutes about the proposed Ukraine ceasefire. Here is what they agreed on and what it means.
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Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have agreed on a halt in Russian attacks against Ukrainian energy targets — but fell far short of securing a full ceasefire in a highly anticipated phone call.
The US and Russian leaders spoke for more than an hour-and-a-half on Wednesday and both expressed hopes for repairing relations between the countries.
However, there was no agreement from the Russian President for Washington’s proposed full 30-day ceasefire in Russia’s invasion of its pro-Western neighbour.
WHAT DID TRUMP SAY?
Donald Trump said he had agreed in a “good and productive” call with Vladimir Putin to work swiftly towards a ceasefire in Ukraine, after they sealed a deal to halt attacks on energy targets but no full truce.
Mr Trump said on his Truth Social network they had “an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a Complete Ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible War between Russia and Ukraine.”
WHAT DID PUTIN AGREE TO?
The Kremlin said Mr Putin agreed to pause strikes on Ukraine energy targets for 30 days and that Mr Putin had already given the order to his military.
The White House said separately that the “leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire.”
Russia has launched a series of devastating attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure throughout the three-year-old war.
According to the Kremlin statement, Ukraine - which has bombed multiple Russian oil installations - had also agreed to the truce on energy targets, although Kyiv had yet to comment.
Russia and Ukraine will also swap 175 prisoners each on Wednesday following the call, the Kremlin said.
ARE MORE NEGOTIATIONS NEEDED?
The two leaders agreed that broader truce talks would “begin immediately in the Middle East,” the White House said in its statement, also citing a “huge upside” if Russia and the United States improve their relations.
But the Kremlin statement said a “key condition” for peace would be ending Western military and intelligence support to Ukraine’s embattled military - a position that will alarm Kyiv and European capitals that have already accused Mr Putin of stalling.
Mr Putin said that, for a wider truce to work, Ukraine must not be allowed to rearm and must halt mandatory mobilisation.
Mr Putin said the Ukraine conflict could only be resolved long-term if the West halted military and intelligence support for Ukraine, which seems unlikely given the recent show of support from the EU.
‘FURTHER ISSUES NEED DISCUSSION’
Mr Trump had already made clear before the call that he was ready to discuss “dividing up certain assets” - what parts of occupied Ukraine that Russia would be allowed to keep.
The US president had said on his Truth Social network on the eve of the call that “many elements of a final agreement have been agreed to, but much remains” to be settled.
US allies, alarmed by Mr Trump’s recent pivot towards Russia, fear the Republican will give too much ground to the Russian president, a leader for whom he has repeatedly expressed admiration.
Kyiv had already agreed to the US proposal to halt fighting for 30 days.
It said on Tuesday before the call that it expected Moscow to “unconditionally” accept to the ceasefire.
“It is time for Russia to show whether it really wants peace,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.
But Mr Putin has repeatedly said that there were further issues that needed discussion, which Tuesday’s call apparently failed to fully resolve.
Mr Putin gave a hardline anti-Western speech Tuesday before the call, saying the West would still try to undermine Russia even if it lifted sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.
He mocked the G7 group of rich democracies - from which Russia was expelled in 2018 - to wild applause from the audience, saying it was too small to “see on a map.”
WAS ZELENSKY RIGHT AFTER ALL?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously warned that Mr Putin does not want peace and is trying to achieve a better position militarily ahead of any halt in fighting.
Russia has attacked Ukraine with near daily barrages of drones and missiles for more than three years, occupying some 20 percent southern and eastern Ukraine and pressing a grinding advance in recent months.
The Kremlin has also hailed Moscow’s quick offensive in the Kursk region, parts of which Ukraine seized last year and was hoping to use as a bargaining chip.
The push towards a ceasefire began in February when Trump announced that he had spoken to Mr Putin - a surprise call that broke Western efforts to isolate the Russian leader while his invasion continues.
As Mr Trump upended years of US policy he then had a televised shouting match with Zelensky in the Oval Office on February 28, which led to the United States temporarily suspending its billions of dollars in military aid to Kyiv.
On Sunday Trump said he would discuss issues of “land” and “power plants” with Mr Putin - a likely reference to the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
Mr Trump is however intent on delivering on an election pledge to end fighting in Ukraine, blaming his predecessor Joe Biden’s policy on Russia for fueling the war.
“It must end NOW,” he said on Truth Social.
HOW ARE OTHER COUNTRIES REACTING?
The German and French leaders vowed to continue providing military aid to Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a “complete cessation” of Western military support.
“We both agree that Ukraine can count on us, that Ukraine can count on Europe and that we will not let (Kyiv) down,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
He spoke alongside visiting French President Emmanuel Macron, who said: “We will continue to support the Ukrainian army in its war of resistance against Russian aggression.”
Mr Putin made the comments in a highly anticipated phone call with President Donald Trump, telling the US leader that the conflict in Ukraine could only be resolved if the West halts military and intelligence support for Ukraine.
They also agreed to a halt in Russian attacks against Ukrainian energy targets - but fell far short of securing a full ceasefire.
Mr Macron however insisted that “the objective must remain the same - to have a measurable and verifiable ceasefire, fully respected... a solid and lasting peace and the guarantees that go with it”.
“Obviously this is not conceivable without the Ukrainians being at the table,” he added.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR PEACEKEEPING FORCES?
Britain and France both have said that they are willing to send a peacekeeping force to monitor any ceasefire in Ukraine.
Australia is also considering joining a “coalition of the willing” in the event of a ceasefire deal.
Russia has ruled out peacekeepers until the war has ended, and has issued subtle threats that such forces will not be safe.
“It does not matter under what label NATO contingents were to be deployed on Ukrainian territory: be it the European Union, NATO, or in a national capacity,” Mr Grushko said.
“If they appear there, it means that they are deployed in the conflict zone with all the consequences for these contingents as parties to the conflict,” he said.
“We can talk about unarmed observers, a civilian mission that would monitor the implementation of individual aspects of this agreement, or guarantee mechanisms. In the meantime, it’s just hot air.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said in remarks published on Sunday that the stationing of peacekeeping troops in Ukraine is a question for Kyiv to decide and not Moscow.
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Originally published as Trump, Putin agree halt to Ukraine energy attacks but no ceasefire, so when will there be peace?