Reportedly, advisors to the U.S. President are pushing for any future discussions with Putin to be contingent on a complete cessation of hostilities in Ukraine.
According to NBC News, citing two unnamed sources, US President Donald Trump’s advisors are advising him against calling Russian President Vladimir Putin until Moscow commits to a full ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict.
Trump had previously told the media that he planned to speak with Putin again, possibly this week, after their prior conversation on March 18. Trump, who is attempting to broker a truce between Moscow and Kyiv after more than three years of fighting, stated on Tuesday that Putin and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky are “ready to make a deal” because of his involvement.
Putin has stated his support for a complete halt to fighting, but he is concerned about the specifics of its implementation. He has proposed that a pause would be possible if the US ensures comprehensive monitoring along the frontline and if Kyiv halts the mobilization of reinforcements.
During their previous call, the Russian president agreed to a moratorium on attacks against energy infrastructure, which Zelensky also publicly supported. However, since then, the Russian Defense Ministry has regularly reported Ukrainian strikes violating the partial ceasefire, including attacks on internationally-owned infrastructure within Russia. Moscow maintains that it remains committed to its side of the agreement.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Friday that no contacts between Putin and Trump are scheduled for the “next several days” and dismissed the NBC report, cautioning against “speculation and outright lies” in the media.
This week, Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev, an advisor to President Putin on international economic cooperation, traveled to the US to meet with White House officials. Following the discussions, he stated that more progress has been achieved toward resolving the Ukraine conflict, but that third parties are attempting to disrupt the normalization of US-Russian relations initiated by Trump in February, when he phoned Putin for the first time since taking office.
Politico has reported that officials in the UK and Germany anticipate a third call between Putin and Trump within days, following Dmitriev’s visit.
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