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Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s military to refrain from striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure for 30 days, but stopped short of agreeing to an unconditional ceasefire.
The Kremlin said that the Russian president had “reacted positively” to a suggestion by Donald Trump to halt the attacks in a much-anticipated call between the two leaders on Tuesday.
It added that Putin “immediately gave the Russian military the corresponding order”.
In comments on Sunday, Trump had suggested that both “land” and “power plants” would be divided between Kyiv and Moscow in any final peace settlement, a seeming reference to Ukrainian assets currently occupied by Russia.
But, rather than agreeing to the US president’s proposal for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, Putin highlighted a “series of significant issues” about enforcing such an agreement and “serious risks” concerning Kyiv’s compliance.
Readouts from the call offered no indication that Putin was willing to compromise on his maximalist goals to end the war, which amount in effect to ending Ukraine’s existence as an independent state while rolling back most of Nato’s expansion east of the former Iron Curtain.
The Kremlin said Putin stressed that Russia’s “key condition to stop the conflict from escalating” and move towards a settlement would be a “total end to foreign military support and intelligence sharing with Kyiv”.
Last week, Kyiv signed up to Trump’s 30-day truce after pressure from Washington, which had suspended both military aid and intelligence sharing.
According to the readout, Putin said on Tuesday that he was ready to work with the US to end the war but insisted any agreement must “take into account the unconditional necessity to remove the initial reasons for the crisis and Russia’s legal security interests”.
The readout added that Moscow and Washington would set up expert groups to work on bilateral paths to a ceasefire.
The White House said the two presidents had “agreed this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace” and “stressed the need for improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia”.
It added that they had “agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire” — with “technical negotiations” to begin on implementing a “maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea” followed by talks on a “full ceasefire and permanent peace”.
Asked about the call, a senior Ukrainian official involved in peace negotiations said an energy infrastructure ceasefire is “the only realistic proposal because, ultimately, Putin wants war”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially floated the possibility of a truce on attacking energy targets in October, saying that it could pave the way to broader peace talks.
The senior Ukrainian official added that Kyiv had asked the White House for “full information” about the call with Putin and was waiting for a response.
The Kremlin said Putin had reacted “positively” to Trump’s proposal on Black Sea maritime security and agreed to hold further talks on the matter.
It added that the two leaders discussed a “broad spectrum of directions” where the US and Russia could co-operate further, including “mutually beneficial partnerships in economics and energy”.
Putin and Trump also discussed the Middle East and said they would make “joint efforts to stabilise the situation in crisis zones”, as well as “establishing co-operation” on nuclear non-proliferation and global security, the Kremlin said.
Trump also agreed to Putin’s suggestion that Russia and the US each host international ice hockey matches featuring players from both countries, the Kremlin added.
Tuesday’s call followed a conversation between Trump and Putin in February that launched the US president’s efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Over the past month, Trump has placed heavy pressure on Zelenskyy to make concessions and negotiate a settlement with Putin.
The US president has been criticised both domestically and internationally for being far less demanding of his Russian counterpart, though he has threatened to impose additional sanctions on Russia if Putin fails to engage in the peace talks.
Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine throughout his 2024 presidential campaign, placing it at the top of his foreign policy plans for his second term.
