"Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations for a ceasefire." These were the words of US President Donald Trump, who, after a phone call with his counterpart Putin, conveyed the idea that peace was imminent.
But the Kremlin's version was different, saying that the negotiation process would take time.
Signaling a kind of diminution of the US role, the head of the White House said after the 2-hour phone call with Putin that the terms of the peace agreement will be negotiated only by Russia and Ukraine, perhaps with the help of the Pope, writes A2.
He refused to respond to calls from European allies to increase pressure on Moscow through new sanctions. The only pressure Trump thinks he is putting on Moscow is the warning to withdraw from the talks. In fact, the possible non-involvement of the US in the war is what Moscow has always wanted.
"I think something is going to happen. Big, very big egos are involved, I'm telling you. And if it doesn't happen, they'll just have to back off and they'll go on their own. I repeat, this is a European situation, it should have remained that way," Trump said.
Putin thanked Trump for his support for the resumption of direct talks between Moscow and Kiev after a meeting in Istanbul last week. But after Monday's call, he said only that the efforts were generally in the right direction and reiterated his position that the root causes of the conflict needed to be addressed: "We need to determine the most effective ways to peace. We agreed with the US President that Russia will suggest and is ready to work on a possible memorandum and peace treaty, which would set out a number of issues, such as the principles of the agreement, including a possible ceasefire for a certain period of time."
After his call with Putin, Trump also spoke with the Ukrainian President and European leaders. Zelensky later said that Kiev and its partners were considering hosting a high-level meeting between Ukraine, Russia, the United States, EU countries and Britain as part of an effort to end the war. He stressed that no deal with Russia can be reached without Ukraine. (A2 Televizion)
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