Germany's Defense chief doubts Russia's commitment to energy truce and peace negotiations
Photo: Boris Pistorius (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in an interview with the RND outlet that he sees no signs of Russia’s readiness to reach a ceasefire. In his opinion, this is evidenced by Russia’s attacks against Ukraine’s civilian population.
“With regard to Ukraine, it must be acknowledged that the US president (Donald Trump – ed.) has brought movement into the peace negotiations. However, so far I see no signs that Russia seriously wants peace,” the minister said.
He emphasized that the Russians continue to bombard Ukraine with unprecedented intensity. Moreover, this was happening at a time when delegations were holding talks in Abu Dhabi.
“During the talks in Abu Dhabi, Putin is bombing Ukraine in a way that has hardly been seen in this war. This no longer has anything to do with military confrontation. This is terror aimed exclusively at the civilian population – in winter at minus 20 degrees,” Pistorius said.
The defense minister stressed that when it comes down to substance, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin adheres to his maximal demands and does not demonstrate readiness for compromise.
In addition, Pistorius commented on the week-long energy truce that Russia agreed to. The official expressed doubts about Moscow’s seriousness.
“If Putin were serious about the negotiations in Abu Dhabi, he would not have had to be asked. He would have stopped attacks not only on Kyiv during severe frost, but across the entire country. I have great doubts that Moscow takes this pause in attacks even remotely seriously,” the German defense chief concluded.
Peace talks and the energy truce
Let us recall that last weekend, the first trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States took place in the UAE. The American side assessed them positively, and Kyiv also commented on the meeting, calling it substantive.
Now another meeting between the sides is expected, preliminarily tomorrow, February 1. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that it could be postponed due to the situation around Iran, as the United States may strike the ayatollah regime, which would affect the date.
At the same time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reported that Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner allegedly would not take part in the new talks. That is, the meeting will be only between Ukraine and Russia.
Also on Thursday, Trump stated that he had asked Putin for a week-long energy truce, to which the latter agreed. Later, Zelenskyy confirmed that the delegations at the first meeting in Abu Dhabi discussed the possibility of an energy truce.
