Putin assured Trump over the phone earlier that Russia is “ready to work with” Ukraine on a “memorandum” that would outline the parameters of “a possible future peace treaty.”
Washington: According to reports, US President Donald Trump told European leaders in a private meeting that Russian President Vladimir Putin opposes resolving the conflict in Ukraine because he thinks Moscow has the upper hand and is winning at the moment. Interestingly, Trump has publicly insisted that Putin wants “peace,” even though he made it apparent in the private phone call that the Russian president does not desire a ceasefire.
Trump acknowledged the call Monday while speaking on the phone with a number of European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a Washington Post report. Furthermore, a day after a phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump failed to result in a breakthrough on resolving the three-year-old war in Ukraine, Kyiv’s European allies imposed fresh sanctions on Moscow on Tuesday.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul declared, “We have made clear again and again that we simply expect one thing from Russia now, namely, a ceasefire, unconditional and immediate,” as he announced the penalties. “We applaud Ukraine’s continued readiness to take this action. We regret that Russia has yet to take this important action, and we will need to respond to this.”
Despite direct negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian teams in Istanbul on Friday and a phone chat between Trump and Putin on Monday, diplomatic efforts to stop the conflict have not yielded much success.
Putin assured Trump during the phone that Russia is “ready to work with” Ukraine on a “memorandum” that would outline the parameters of “a possible future peace treaty.”
Nearly 200 ships from Russia’s “shadow fleet” that were illegally transferring oil to get around Western limitations were the focus of the latest European Union penalties. Additionally, it placed travel restrictions and asset freezes on a number of Russian companies and people.