Mar 13, 2025 01:28 AM IST
While the Russian president will probably agree to eventual truce terms with Ukraine, he wants to make sure his own conditions are included beforehand.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to try to drag out the timeline for agreeing to any such cessation of hostilities to make sure the most favorable terms possible are secured for Moscow, several people with knowledge of the situation said.
While the Russian leader will probably agree to eventual truce terms with Ukraine, he wants to make sure his own conditions are included beforehand, according to a person familiar with the Kremlin’s thinking.
Russian officials didn’t discuss with their US counterparts the specific deal that the Ukrainian delegation agreed to in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on Tuesday, and the Kremlin finds that framework unacceptable, the person said.
The agreement between US and Ukrainian officials presents a dilemma for Putin, who has escaped the same high-pressure campaign the White House has waged against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Still the outline of the deal reached in Jeddah doesn’t do what Russia has previously said it needs in order to halt the fighting — namely address the parameters of a more longterm settlement to the war Putin started in February 2022.
The Kremlin also might demand a halt to weapons supplies to Ukraine as a condition for the ceasefire, one of the people close to the Kremlin said.
Russia has previously demanded Ukraine become a neutral nation and significantly reduce the size of its armed forces.
Trump said US officials would talk with Russian counterparts on Wednesday and that it’s possible he could speak to Putin as soon as this week. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Moscow was waiting for details of the agreement, but didn’t rule out a phone call between the two leaders.
US envoy Steve Witkoff is due to travel to Moscow to meet with Putin this week, Bloomberg News earlier reported.
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