Trump and Putin's Ukraine talks yield no Russian concessions
The White House announced that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have agreed that steps towards peace in Ukraine will begin with halting attacks on energy facilities and infrastructure and holding negotiations in the Middle East regarding further actions. The Kremlin also released its own statement, prompting a barrage of online comments.
President Donald Trump had a phone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. The discussion centred on the conflict in Ukraine, which was instigated by Russia, and US-Russia relations.
"Not a single concession from Russia"
Following the release of the statements, online commentary surged.
"Much ado about nothing," assessed Andrzej Kohut, regarding 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 analyst from the Centre for Eastern Studies.
"It seems that the full ceasefire for 30 days agreed upon by the US and Ukraine was rejected by Putin," noted 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," assessed Daniel Szeligowski from the Polish Institute of International Affairs.
Sam Greene stated that it is not possible to speak of a breakthrough after this conversation. "This is a delay tactic, designed to keep Trump at the table and extract pressure on Kyiv," writes the sociologist.
"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 the power plants. It seems that Trump did not particularly pressure Russia," 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.
