Bloomberg: Putin is ready for a ceasefire in Ukraine, but on his own terms
8 March 2025 01:21
Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin is ready to discuss a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine, provided that progress is made toward a final peace settlement. Bloomberg reports this with reference to sources in Moscow, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs
It is noted that US President Donald Trump continues to put pressure on Ukraine for a peace agreement, as there have been signals that the Kremlin is ready to agree to a temporary truce under certain conditions.
According to two sources, in order to agree to a cessation of hostilities, the Kremlin wants to get a clear understanding of the framework principles of a final peace agreement.
In particular, Russia will insist on establishing the parameters of a possible peacekeeping mission, including an agreement on which countries will participate in it.
Russia has stated that it will not accept the presence of NATO troops on Ukrainian soil, rejecting a proposal by European countries to create a “coalition of volunteers” to help monitor any peace agreement.
At the same time, the Kremlin has no objection to countries such as China, which have been “neutral” in the conflict, deploying their forces in Ukraine.
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Trump’s position on Ukraine
During the election campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly said that he would stop the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office. This deadline has already passed.
Also during the election, the media spread the so-called “Trump Plan”. The plan was that the United States would use its influence to stop the war, taking into account the status quo. To do this, Trump would force Putin and Zelenskyy to sit down at the negotiating table. If Putin does not agree to negotiate, the United States will give Ukraine all the weapons it needs to win on the battlefield. If Zelenskyy refuses to negotiate, the United States will completely stop helping Ukraine.
This plan, in its various variations, included a provision that Russia would retain the territories it temporarily occupied and that Ukraine would not join NATO.
However, later Trump seemed to “forget” about this plan. In particular, he voiced scenarios in which he would force Russia to capitulate due to the decline in world oil prices.
After Trump was elected President of the United States, one of his advisors, Brian Lanza, said that Ukraine should forget about Crimea. Trump’s entourage, however, was quick to deny this statement and said that Lanza could not speak on his behalf.
Currently, the US Special Representative for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is talking about 100 days within which the US wants to reach some kind of agreement. Of these, 46 days have already passed. During this time, the US presidential administration has established contact with the Kremlin, an American envoy has traveled to Moscow, and top-level negotiators have met in Saudi Arabia and Istanbul. Ukraine was not present at these meetings.
Meanwhile, in exchange for military support, US President Donald Trump demanded $500 billion worth of rare earth metals from Ukraine. He said that the US should have access to Ukraine’s natural resources, regardless of whether Kyiv manages to reach a peace agreement with Russia. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasizes that in exchange for this agreement, the Ukrainian side is not given any security guarantees.
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Negotiations in Riyadh and Istanbul
on February 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Prime Minister’s aide Yuri Ushakov met in Saudi Arabia with an American delegation, represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Volz, and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
After the talks, the US State Department reported that the delegations agreed to “eliminate irritants” in bilateral relations and continue to work on preparing talks on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The two sides also agreed to appoint high-level groups for further talks on Ukraine.
Jackie Heinrich, a Fox News correspondent at the White House, reported that the United States and Russia are discussing a three-stage peace plan for Ukraine, which consists of the following stages
- A ceasefire.
- Holding elections in Ukraine.
- Conclusion of a peace agreement.
on February 27, negotiations between the Americans and Russians continued in Istanbul. According to the Russian side, they discussed the normalization of diplomatic relations. The Kremlin also allegedly demanded the return of 6 properties that were seized from Russians in the United States during 2016-2018, and also proposed to resume air travel.
Trump’s proposals to Putin
According to inaccurate information from former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul(he used the word “allegedly”), Trump offered Putin (McFaul’s wording is retained)
- ukrainian territory;
- ukraine’s non-membership in NATO;
- no American soldiers in Ukraine;
- withdrawal of American soldiers from Europe, including from frontline countries;
- easing of sanctions.
According to McFaul, Putin has not offered anything yet.
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