U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 19.
Instead of pressuring Russia to accept the “30-day ceasefire plan” proposed by the U.S. government in March, Trump said he would leave the ceasefire and end-of-war negotiations to Russia and Ukraine.
This was a de facto step backward for the U.S., which had been a mediator, the New York Times reported.
Speaking to reporters after the call, Putin said he and Trump had a “very meaningful and quite frank” call, and that “Russia will propose to Ukraine a memorandum outlining the contours of a future peace treaty. The memorandum could include the possibility of a ceasefire for a certain period, the principles of settlement, and the timing of a possible peace agreement,” he said.
This means that an agreement in the form of a memorandum will be reached before the end-of-war negotiations begin.
In particular, “our clear position is that it is important to eliminate the root causes of the crisis,” he said.
As for the outcome of the call, foreign observers said Putin got what he wanted. Initially, Russia had insisted that the war could only be stopped after negotiations on the terms of a ceasefire.
The Washington Post noted that there was no indication that Russia would give up some of its demands, such as ceding territory to Ukraine, to advance the peace process.
In March, Trump threatened sanctions against Russia if it did not immediately cease fire, but there was no such warning in today’s call.
