Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to return to peace talks only after Russia receives the remaining part of Donbas, which is still under Ukrainian control. This is reported by Reuters, citing a source close to the Kremlin.
We are talking about about 11% of the territory of Donbas. According to the agency's interlocutor, Putin wants these areas in order to present the result to Russian society as a victory.
Ukraine categorically rejects the possibility of ceding additional territories to Russia. However, Kiev allows a freeze on the current front line to become the basis for a future peace agreement.
Washington seeks new format for negotiations
The United States hopes that the agreement reached last week on the supply of Russian diesel fuel to the US market will help to resume trilateral talks between Washington, Moscow and Kiev.
According to Reuters, during a meeting with Ukrainian representatives in Miami, Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, insisted that Ukraine stop the attacks on Russian oil refineries. He stated that this was a request of the US administration.
Washington's idea was to use the possible cessation of Ukrainian attacks and the diesel agreement as arguments for new concessions from Moscow.
Trump: Putin wants a deal more than Zelensky
Donald Trump said that in his opinion Putin is more eager to reach an agreement than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He indicated that Zelensky also needs to be convinced to accept an agreement.
When asked whether Moscow and Kiev had agreed to observe an energy truce, as he had previously claimed, Trump replied:
„They agreed. Do you know why? Because I told them: You have to agree. That's why.“The claim about the truce comes against the backdrop of a divergence between the positions of Washington and Kiev. Ukraine allows for a halt to strikes on Russian refineries, but ties this to an end to Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Earlier, The Kyiv Independent reported that representatives of the Trump administration had put pressure on senior Ukrainian military and government officials to stop strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. According to the publication, Washington has threatened to suspend intelligence sharing and the PURL program, through which European countries finance the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine.
Thus, the resumption of negotiations remains linked to two different conditions: Moscow insists on the entire Donbas, and Washington seeks an end to strikes on energy facilities. Kiev is not accepting territorial concessions for the time being and is emphasizing a mutual, rather than a unilateral, energy truce.
Sources: news.bg, kyivindependent.com