Putin agrees to Trump's ceasefire proposal, but insists on two conditions - Russian Foreign Minister
Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in an interview for CBS News, reported that in March, US President Donald Trump proposed an unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly agreed to this, but with conditions.
"President Putin immediately supported President Trump's proposal few weeks ago to establish a 30 day ceasefire provided- provided we do not repeat mistakes of the last 10 years, when deals were signed and then Ukraine would violate those deals with the support and with encouragement from Biden administration and from European countries," Lavrov claimed, mentioning the Minsk agreements and the talks in Istanbul.
It is important to note that Trump’s idea was to halt the fighting without any conditions. Ukraine agreed to this on March 11. However, after the conversation between Trump and Putin, Russia only agreed to a 30-day partial ceasefire (concerning energy infrastructure), which it ultimately violated. Moscow has ignored a full ceasefire for nearly 50 days.
Continuing his response to CBS News, Lavrov again stated that Putin had reportedly agreed to a ceasefire. However, the Foreign Minister acknowledged that Russia had conditions, then proceeded to deny it. One of the demands was a halt to weapons supplies to Ukraine and ensuring that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would not use the time to strengthen their position.
"So President Putin said: 'Ceasefire, yes, but we want the guarantees that the ceasefire would not be used again to beef up the Ukrainian military and that the support of arms should stop.' No, it is not a precondition. It is the lessons learned after at least three times a deal similar to the one we are discussing now (was sabotaged -ed.)," Lavrov said.
When the host pointed out that Russia did not accept the call for a ceasefire, Russia's Foreign Minister stated that "the Ukrainian regime has strong support from European capitals and the Biden administration."
"If you want a ceasefire, just to continue supplying arms to Ukraine, so what is your purpose? ... They (NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas -ed.) bluntly stated that they can support only the deal which, at the end of the day, will make Ukraine stronger, would make Ukraine a victor," Lavrov added.
Ceasefire in Ukraine
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced today that next week will be critical for an agreement to end the war in Ukraine. He noted that there is both optimism and concern about this.
