New Delhi: More than three years after a ‘special military operation’ by Russia marked the beginning of the deadliest armed conflict in Europe since World War II, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump held a phone call on 18 March during which the two leaders discussed the terms for a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine.
While readouts issued by the White House and the Kremlin differ on some aspects of the negotiations, a few issues find mention in both—an assurance by Russia and Ukraine to not attack each other’s ‘energy and infrastructure’ and to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea.
That the two leaders “confirmed their intention to continue efforts aimed at reaching a settlement in Ukraine bilaterally” is another key takeaway from the readout issued by Moscow. It adds that both the US and Russia are forming task forces for this purpose.
But a concrete peace deal for Ukraine hinges on conditions laid out by Putin, who has demanded that the West neither supply any more arms to Ukraine, nor share any intelligence with Kyiv going forward.
While Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is not a part of the negotiations, Trump is confident that he will be able to stitch up a peace deal and claim credit for ending a conflict which he says would never have begun in the first place had he been president of the United States of America in 2022.
Another interesting take away from the latest Trump-Putin phone call was mention of Iran and Israel. While the Russian readout made no mention of it, the American readout said the “two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel”.
In Episode 1625 of CutTheClutter, Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta looks at the fine print of the proposed ceasefire deal.