Russia ready to end Ukraine conflict: Putin after 2-hour call with Trump
After a two-hour-long call with US President Donald Trump on Monday, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said that Moscow is ready to work with Ukraine to end the three-year-long conflict."We have agreed with the President of the United States that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace accord, defining a number of positions, such as, for example, the principles of settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement," Putin told reporters, according to news agency Reuters.advertisementPutin said that any progress toward peace would require setting terms for a ceasefire, including its duration. Ukraine, along with its European partners and the US, have all urged Russia to accept an immediate, unconditional 30-day ceasefire.The war dates back to February 2022 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, beginning the biggest conflict in Europe since World War 2. The invasion followed years of tension after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and its backing of separatist movements in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.Russia claimed it was conducting a "special military operation" to demilitarise Ukraine and protect Russian-speaking populations in the east. But the attack was widely condemned as an unprovoked act of aggression.Putin thanked Trump for backing the resumption of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, which recently resumed in Turkey for the first time since March 2022. According to Putin, Trump acknowledged Moscow's stated commitment to a peaceful resolution, though significant challenges remain in defining a path forward.advertisementHe said that the fact that direct dialogue is taking place suggests progress in the right direction. Still, he emphasised that peace depends on addressing what he called the root causes of the conflict."The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis. We just need to determine the most effective ways to move towards peace," Putin said.However, European leaders doubt Putin's sincerity, expressing concern that he and Trump could force a punitive peace deal on Ukraine. Such a deal, they fear, might leave Ukraine without strong security guarantees and result in the loss of significant territory—potentially as much as a fifth of the country. Former US President Joe Biden and Western European leaders, continue to frame Russia's 2022 invasion as an imperial-style land. They argue that Moscow's ambitions could extend beyond Ukraine and threaten NATO itself—a claim Russia denies.Putin, meanwhile, portrays the conflict as a pivotal moment in Russia's relationship with the West. He accuses NATO of expanding eastward and encroaching on Russia's traditional sphere of influence, particularly after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.Inputs from ReutersMust Watch
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