MoscowVladimir Putin avoids rejecting Kiev and Washington's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but he doesn't accept it either. The Russian president says that agrees to stop hostilities, but "with nuances." The Kremlin's concern is that Volodymyr Zelensky's troops will take advantage of the truce to obtain more weapons and mobilize new soldiers. In his first public address since the talks between Ukraine and the United States in Saudi Arabia, accompanied by his Belarusian ally, President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Putin reiterated the idea that the Kremlin has been conveying for months: it only makes sense to talk about stopping the fighting "if the causes of the conflict are eliminated." That is, if its conditions are met.
The Russian president does not want to give Zelensky any breathing space and has demanded guarantees to ensure that Ukraine does not receive new weapons while hostilities are halted. Nor does he want to be able to forcibly recruit or train new fighters., and fears that it will be impossible to establish mechanisms to verify that these terms are met.
Another sensitive issue for Putin is the situation in the Russian region of Kursk., occupied by Ukraine since August, but which Moscow's troops have been reconquering at great speed in recent days. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, they have recovered 86% of the territory, including the city of Sudja, the largest remaining under Ukrainian control. Putin fears that a ceasefire before the Russian army controls the entire territory could thwart the reconquest and endanger his men. The Kremlin wants to prevent the progress of its military from being halted now that, according to Putin himself, "they are advancing almost everywhere."
The Russian leader could not afford to reject Kiev and Washington's proposal outright and appear as an obstacle to achieving peace. That's why he wanted to thank Donald Trump for his efforts to find a solution to the conflict and has not ruled out a telephone conversation with him. However, hours earlier, one of the Kremlin's top advisors, Yuri Uyxakov, who also plays a prominent role in the negotiations, ruled out a possibility this Thursday. Trump "delighted" in accepting the idea, described Putin's statements as "promising, but incomplete" and warned him that if he doesn't accept the ceasefire, "it's going to be a big disappointment for everyone." What the Russian president does plan to do is meet with the White House special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in a closed-door meeting at the Kremlin this Thursday night. It will be the second time Putin has met with the US envoy, since on February 11 they already met for an hour and a half to secure the release of an American prisoner, according to The Moscow Times.
Threat in Europe
Also during the press conference, the Russian president downplayed the impact of Western sanctions, one of the cards the United States has in its hands and hopes not to have to use if Russia does not comply with the 30-day ceasefire proposal. According to Putin, the sanctions have provided "a good opportunity for independence and sovereignty." He also opened the door to Western companies that want to return, although he added that he will not give them "any preference." He also announced that the Russian Federation is already negotiating with some of these companies.
Putin did not mention two of the conditions that have so far always been non-negotiable for Russia: Ukraine's entry into NATO and possible security guarantees. People close to him did, however, reiterating his intention to reaffirm his unwillingness to budge. On the one hand, Ushakov himself asserted that the United States and Russia agree that Volodymyr Zelensky's request to join the NATO has no place in a peace agreement.
On the other hand, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that the deployment of European peacekeepers in Ukraine will be considered a "direct armed conflict." The presence of foreign units on Ukrainian territory "would involve these countries in a direct armed conflict with our country, to which we will respond with all available means," she stated on Thursday. Moscow has repeatedly stated that it opposes any form of military contingent from countries allied with Ukraine, members of NATO or the European Union, as a guarantee of peacekeeping for Kyiv.But this is the first time that Russian diplomacy has warned that it will consider this the equivalent of an act of military aggression.
Poland requests US nuclear aid
Meanwhile, Poland has asked Washington for support. Its president, Andrzej Duda, has asked the United States to transfer nuclear weapons to its territory as a deterrent against possible Russian aggression, a proposal he claims to have discussed with the US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, according to the Financial Times .
"NATO's borders were moved east in 1999, so 26 years later, there should also be a shift of NATO infrastructure eastward. For me, this is obvious," Andrzej Duda said in an interview. "It would be safer if these weapons were in [our] country," the president declared.