The phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has disrupted efforts to pressure Moscow for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. Instead, the call paved the way for continued fighting and a delay in long-awaited talks, reports Focus.
According to The Washington Post, Trump's refusal to press Russia for a ceasefire suggests a possible withdrawal from an active diplomatic role - a process his team has been hinting at for weeks.
"A little over a week ago, European leaders, together with US officials, were preparing new sanctions against Russia if it refuses a ceasefire in Ukraine. Despite Trump's repeated calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the president, who once promised to end the war in one day, appears to have not only ignored European efforts but also reneged on his own words," the publication states.
During the conversation, Putin introduced a new condition - that each side prepare a memorandum with the parameters of the future peace agreement. This delay, according to experts, could put Ukraine in a more vulnerable position as the negotiations drag on.
According to the publication's analysis, a pattern is already emerging in relations between Trump and Putin - with each successive conversation, the Kremlin emphasizes the complexity of a final agreement, which, according to it, excludes an immediate ceasefire.
Tatyana Stanoeva, a senior fellow at the Moscow Center for Eurasia at the Carnegie Institution, notes that Putin has managed to offer Trump an intermediate, symbolic outcome of the peace efforts without making any real concessions.
Trump's hint that Russia and Ukraine should negotiate the ceasefire themselves further reinforces the feeling that the United States is distancing itself from a leading role in the negotiation process.
„This raises serious doubts that an agreement can be reached by the end of the year. Putin is believed to be confident that Russia has a strategic advantage and can gain more territory during the summer season,“ emphasizes The Washington Post.
In addition, an anonymous source close to the negotiations stated that after a subsequent conversation between Trump and European leaders, the feeling remained that the American president did not want to increase pressure on the Kremlin and was even considering reducing the US's participation as a mediator in the conflict.