In view of the lack of progress in the Ukraine negotiations, the United States is becoming increasingly impatient. Now Russia is reacting. President Putin agreed to talk directly to Kyiv about a possible agreement.
So far, there is hardly any movement in the indirect conversations between Russia and Ukraine. Now Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin suggests direct negotiations with Kyiv about the expansion of a moratorium.
Russia has registered that Ukraine attempts to take over the initiative on the subject of ceasefire, strive for an extension or to take out other objects from the fire, Putin said to Russian journalists. He apparently responded to the proposal of the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj to set the shelling on civilian objects for 30 days. “We have to think about it.”
Putin was skeptical, but he was ready to clarify such questions in bilateral conversations. In this case, bilaterally, the Ukrainian side meant that Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskow later emphasized. So far, negotiations on a possible end of the Russian attack war in Ukraine between Moscow and Kiev have only been indirect – with the USA recently switched on as an intermediary.
Kremlin welcomes US farming to NATO recording
Russia continues to focus on negotiations under the leadership of the United States, said Peskow. “Of course we hope that this work will bring results,” he said. With a view to the hope expressed by US President Trump, Peskow could conclude that Russia and Ukraine could conclude an agreement this week about termination of the conflict. Peskow did not want to commit to a time frame.
At the same time, the Kremlin spokesman welcomed American statements to the fact that the United States does not accept Ukraine's admission to NATO. “We heard from Washington at different levels that membership of Ukraine is excluded in NATO,” said Peskow according to Russian news agencies. “And that is certainly something that causes our satisfaction and coincides with our position.” Ukraine could not become a member of the military alliance “because this would be a threat to the national interests of the Russian Federation”.
New Negotiating round on Wednesday
However, the indirect negotiations this week continue. According to Kiev on Wednesday, negotiators from the USA, Ukraine, UK and France will meet new advice on opportunities for the end of the Russian attack war on Wednesday. “We are ready to move as constructive as possible as we have so far to achieve a ceasefire without any preconditions followed by a real and permanent peace,” wrote the Ukrainian President Selenskyj on the platform X.
France and Great Britain lead a “coalition of the willing” that Ukraine wants to give security guarantees and also support them in the negotiations for just peace.
Trump only wants to comment in the coming days
The United States has fundamentally changed its attitude towards Ukraine since US President Donald Trump took office. The United States was not ready to support Kiev in the long term, Trump recently emphasized. At Easter in the Garden of the White House, the US President now said that he wanted to comment on the war and the mediation efforts in the next three days. He answered the question of a journalist whether there was a US proposal that Ukraine must recognize the Crimea as part of Russia. Russia had occupied the Ukrainian Black Sea Peninsula in 2014 and then annexed it.
The conversations went well, added Trump. He did not give any further details.
“Hopefully Russia and Ukraine will make a deal”
The day before, Trump had posted Trump on his Truth Social platform in capital letters: “Hopefully Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week.” He added: “Both will start doing big business with the United States of America, which are developing perfectly and earn a fortune.”
On Friday, Trump had indicated that “the United States will hire their efforts to impart peace unless a clear path to peace will soon be recognized”. He promised a decision “in a very short time” if the talks with Ukraine or Russia were too complicated.
