“We agree with the proposal to end war actions,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told journalists on Thursday. – The idea is good and we support it. A few days before, the United States and Ukraine had agreed on a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the Ukraine war. “The ball is in their half,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday while special envoy Steve Witkoff flew to Russia with the proposal. There is still the ball. For it is not clear how to interpret Putin’s statement. – Uthaling tactics Putin emphasized that several things must be “discussed”. Among other things, who will control the ceasefire. He also demands that the ceasefire must lead to lasting peace in the war that Russia started fully three years ago. – Putin adds all reservations that are exclusively related to what Ukraine must be willing to give up to get something like that in place, in a completely obvious retaining tactic. This is what Karen-Anna Eggen, Russia researcher at the Department of Defense Studies (IFS), tells news. Karen-Anna Eggen thinks the situation in the battlefield in Kursk makes Putin try to buy more time. Photo: Ismail Burak Akkan / news Also Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyj believes Putin is trying to haul out time. They also said the Americans at the G7 meeting in Canada, EU’s foreign chief Kaja Kallas told the news agency Reuters-it is about the progress they have in Kursk now, but also about the root causes of the war that must be addressed in order for them to be willing to discuss peace, says Eggen. Kursk is the Russian county at the border that Ukraine invaded in August. These “root causes” are the same as Russia has been concerned for many years, according to Eggen: NATO’s expansion eastward and Ukraine’s independence and relationship with the West. – What we can see now is that Putin balances a little to Trump. It is not a blank no, but he is clear that he wants to talk directly to Trump. Something that is bad news for Ukraine, says Eggen. Two roads to ceasefire Trump often seems to often change meaning depending on who he last talked to, points out the IFS researcher. For example, after meetings between the United States and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia, he sharpened the tone of Russia. But after earlier meetings between Russia and the United States, Trump long long for Ukraine and Zelenskyj. Many have also noticed that Trump often shows goodwill to Russia and Putin. And while the ball is still in Russia’s half, Putin sits with many of the cards. Something Trump himself admitted to journalists before the weekend. – I think Putin now sees his cut to get quite a few of his wishes for the outcome of this war, says Eggen. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko (left) visited Putin in Moscow on Thursday. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP / NTB But the United States is not completely powerless, she points out. She has two suggestions on how to get Putin’s “yes” to a ceasefire: – One is that he gets some of the premises he put on the table. That is, Ukraine does not receive weapons support or cannot train or mobilize soldiers. Or the United States can put more pressure on Russia. Trump has threatened, among other things, several economic sanctions against Russia. “But so far, they have not shown any willingness to do so, and on the contrary, given Russia what they want,” says Eggen. Interested in foreign? Hear the Podcast of the Foreign Editors: Published 14.03.2025, at. 06.51 Updated 14.03.2025, at. 08.42
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