Trump and Putin fail to reach key peace concessions
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin agreed that actions for peace in Ukraine will begin with the suspension of attacks on energy facilities and infrastructure, as well as negotiations in the Middle East regarding further steps, announced the White House. The Kremlin also issued its statement. A flurry of comments immediately appeared online.
President Donald Trump had a phone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. The discussion focused on the conflict in Ukraine, which Russia instigated, and on US-Russia relations.
"Not a single concession from Russia"
Just after the statements were released, a wave of comments flooded the internet.
"Much ado about nothing," assessed Andrzej Kohut, commenting on the White House statement. "The only surprise is the information about potential hockey games between NHL teams and the Russian league (info from the Kremlin's statement)," added the Center for Eastern Studies analyst.
"It seems that the full ceasefire for 30 days, agreed upon by the US and Ukraine, was rejected by Putin," notes Marek Wałkuski, correspondent for Polish Radio at the White House.
"Russia and Ukraine were negotiating a halt to strikes on energy infrastructure well before Trump won the presidential election. So not a single concession comes from the Russian side after 2+ hrs of Trump-Putin call," assesses Daniel Szeligowski from the Polish Institute of International Affairs.
Sam Greene said that a breakthrough cannot be expected after this conversation. "This is a delay tactic, designed to keep Trump at the table and extract pressure on Kyiv," the sociologist wrote.
"Putin made a gesture that doesn't cost him much. The Russians can still advance. They can still attack from the air, as long as it's not power plants. It seems that Trump did not particularly press Russia against the wall," stated Artur Bartkiewicz.
"This falls far short of the total & unconditional ceasefire that Trump wanted, and Ukraine agreed to. Putin clearly got the better of Trump in their negotiation," assessed Colby Badhwar.
According to Oskar Górzyński, the Kremlin's crucial statement suggests that it will not agree to a real ceasefire.
