President Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and the two leaders agreed to an “energy and infrastructure ceasefire” in Ukraine as a first step toward a lasting peace, the White House said in a readout of the call.
“The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace,” the readout said, adding that the negotiations “will begin immediately in the Middle East.”
According to RT, the Kremlin has confirmed that Putin agreed with a proposal from Trump for Russia and Ukraine to halt attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days and that he instructed his military accordingly.
The White House said that Trump and Putin also agreed “that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has huge upside. This includes enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved.”
So far, there’s been no immediate response from Ukraine about the potential partial ceasefire, which would require Ukraine to stop using drones to target infrastructure inside Russia.
The US and Ukraine initially proposed a 30-day ceasefire that would apply to all fighting, but Putin responded with several conditions, including a guarantee that the US wouldn’t provide military aid to Ukraine during the truce.
The Kremlin said that Putin told Trump during the call on Tuesday that the “key condition” needed to bring an end to the war and prevent escalation was the “complete cessation” of foreign military aid and intelligence support for Ukraine. Ukrainian neutrality was Russia’s main demand during negotiations before the invasion and in short-lived talks at the beginning of the invasion, which were discouraged by the US.
A start is a start.
"Putin responded with several conditions, including a guarantee that the US wouldn’t provide military aid to Ukraine during the truce."
Well that would require some measure of transparency and confirmation between the two sides. What kind of self-respecting Republican icon would EVER agree to a "Trust, but Verify" policy with the Russians ????
Anyone who thinks a ceasefire agreement with Trump means anything at all is a fool.
Well, that's the crux of the problem, isn't it? And even if Putin were to trust Trump, the next American president could undo the whole thing with the stroke of a pen.
And then there are the crazy Europeans, there's no telling what they might do, such is the scope of their Russia-derangement syndrome.
Seems to me that negotiating real, iron-clad security guarantees for Russia (i.e. no further NATO expansion and real Ukrainian neutrality with monitoring and enforcement mechanisms) might take years… assuming the current American administration is willing to strike such a deal. So what happens in the meantime? I don't see Trump having years of patience. And I sure hope the war doesn't go on for years to come.
The UNIEA could do the job …?? otherwise Hum Int, open and covert.
the next American president could undo the whole thing with the stroke of a pen.
One of several reasons why Lavrov has repeatedly referred to the US as "agreement incapable".
And yet Lavrov will now have to attempt to negotiate something with the US. I don't envy his position.
I'm not confident there will be a President after Trump. Elected or not.
Me neither. But the Russians cannot make that assumption when negotiating with the US Government, can they?
True. It has been said, to paraphrase, “When you see ten disasters barreling down the road towards you, chances are nine of them will run themselves into the ditch before they reach you.”
A saying I’ve personally found very helpful.
… except that energy infrastructure is a category sufficiently circumscribed as to make it easily monitored
…?? though, the evil bastards will probably devise a "dual use" cheat.
" guarantee that the US wouldn’t provide military aid to Ukraine during the truce." They call that a sucker punch.
We know you resent that Trump makes progress.
What progress? The cessation of attacks on energy infrastructure would only go into effect if Ukraine agrees first. Within an hour of the announcement they launched drones at a Russian refinery, so I think that's the Ukrainian answer.
Here in the US we've forgotten what it's like to have leaders with diplomatic skills. Putin politely gave Rump a useless scrap that he could wave around and call a "success", it's utterly meaningless unless he can rein in Zelinskyy and his lunatics. Do you see any sign of the latter happening?
The one thing that came out of it is the obvious obstacle.
the treaty is self serving and dense
What treaty? The article is about a verbal agreement. Those are not the same thing.
I'm using this against you @warsrus:disqus@unclesapien:disqus@existentialdread:disqus@brian_bixby:disqus whenever one of you people claim that "Not 1 Inch Eastwards" was a real treaty which was broken
I don't think any of us claimed it was a treaty, Lox Vila. I did not.
Everyone knew it was something akin to a verbal or "gentlemen's" agreement meant to reassure a collapsing Soviet Union that the West wouldn't take advantage of the situation. Which they went on to do.
Much the way both sides in any conflict can take evident but non-binding actions to signal good will. Christmas truces being an example. Nobody signs anything; both sides just came to an informal "we'll not attack you if you don't attack us" understanding – which is the basis for coexistence between all species on the planet, not just ours.
This isn't the "gotcha" your mass Tag intends it to be. I am honored to be included on that roster you chose; top tier Commenters, they are !
I like Existential Dread he's nice
Now I'm hurt.
I’m sorry
The two aren't comparable. The JCPOA wasn't a treaty either.
jcpoa?
Nothing like the "not one inch eastward" assurance but much closer to being comparable than what was agreed upon between Trump and Putin.
deleted.
So much for ending the war in one day as trump promised he could do.
No one believed Trump, they just could not stand the Biden administration any longer or the demoncratz.
Blah blah blah blah blah blah the leftist likes to whine.
If Timbit is Leftist, I'm m.f.-ing Pope Joan.
Neocon, neocon, neocon.
"Putin ordered the Russian military to stop strikes against energy facilities, the Kremlin said in a statement following a lengthy phone call between the two leaders on Tuesday. But he stopped short of accepting a broader US-backed 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine has said it is ready to implement." – Al Jazeera
And what is that Ukrainian proposal they are ready to implement? 30 days to fortify their positions and rearm like crazy? That's not a ceasefire, that's an idiocy, a warmonger's dream.
In your world of illogic, a ceasefire is an increase in war. No matter what, you oppose anything Trump does.
That's because he's sane.
a self serving treaty beneficial to Moscow
It is darker than that it benefits a certain subset of the super rich in the US who can benefit from exploiting the resources of Ukraine and Russia.
This is the first steps towards Trump agreeing with Putin on how to divide up the assets of Ukraine – they will them move on to each take what they want from other neighbors.
Trump wants to annex Canada, Greenland and Panama – that is only the start as far as I can see – Putin likely wants some more territory in Ukraine up to Trans Dniester and likely Moldova.
The only question is if they can bribe the Europeans or if we will stand up for what is right in face of the imperialist coalition of the US and Russia.
What we do know is that, yes, Trump wants Canada, Greenland, Panama (to start).
What is NOT evident in any of Putin's statements is support for the Screeching NATO Crowd conjecture that Putin "wants all of Ukraine" and Europe and central Asia and a resurrected USSR.
To that end, I haven't seen any ceasefire or peace treaty conditions suggested where the Russian Federation seeks ANY territory except perhaps those which it already holds by combat, and maintaining Crimea, which acceded to the RF by overwhelming popular vote.
The "land grab" machinations are coming from Trump, not "the evil Russians".
Agreed.
There is as far as I know no such conjecture.
There is a fear that Putin wants to take the entire Black sea coast of Ukraine, plus Trans Dniester and possibly Moldova finally there is a less plausible fear that he will take or demand a corridor to kaliningrad.
I have heard that he wants all of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, but not seen it confirmed anywhere.
Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia are already land grabs that makes the Israeli land grabs look like nothing.
I do not think the Russian Federation went into Ukraine to gain territory. Why would they ? Russian territory is already f**king huge; not sure if the RF has more area than Canada or not. I think we have more, especially after the dissolution of the USSR
No, all evidence tracks with Russian Federation statements – the invasion was to protect ethnic Russians, prevent NATO membership, and de-Nazify Ukraine. While some of those goals have diminished, “taking over Ukraine” was and is not evidently among them.
The Russian Federation went into Ukraine for the same reason that all states do everything: To maximize their discretionary power.
That doesn't make those other reasons less legit.
And anyway Russia does not have a military large and capable enough to control a large chunk of Ukraine that is anti-Russian. And they have their own experience in Afghanistan as a warning.
So, no, I'm not buying for a second that Russia is seeking to occupy all of Ukraine. Maybe the parts of Ukraine that are predominantly ethic-Russian, but not the rest.
As for a corridor to Kaliningrad, I doubt Russia wants to go to war with all of NATO over it, even tho the f-ing Lithuanians are trying hard to provoke just such a war.
The very minerals that Trump wanted to discuss how to divide up with Putin.
Putin wanted to prevent the Ukrainians from developing their gas fields so at to compete with the Russian chokehold on European energy.
No it does not the conflict in the Donbas was down to single digit deaths per year and there was 0 chance of Ukraine joining NATO while it had disputed territory with Russia.
So a war to protect people not being persecuted to prevent Ukraine joining NATO when Germany, France and Hungary and… all were against – how do you see this as a good explanation.
It may be the actual reason, but if so it would be an absurd error of intelligence on what actual threats the Russians faced.
De-Nazify Ukraine – well given that they had elected a Russian speaking person of the Abrahamic faith – well it has to be code for something else.
Now it clearly is, and while I think you may be right that the original goal was only to install a Russian friendly government as democratic as that in Belarus – it is no longer the goal.
So stopping destruction of Ukrainian energy infrastructure wouldn't benefit Ukraine at all? Russia has lots of intact energy infrastructure, Ukraine has less then 20% of theirs left according to their Energy Ministry.
Russia already broke the treaty
1. It’s not a treat
2. So did Ukraine
How did ukraine break the treaty
By partial, it means no attack on energy targets when it could impact global energy. But everything else, go to town.
Is that supposed to be analysis???
Not an analysis. But an interpretation. Know the difference.
Obviously, the normalization of American-Russian relations makes the world safer. That's what really does matter.
Entirely ! It would have helped if Trump hadn't torn up arms control agreements with the Russian Federation in his first term.
As it stands, Trump's "promises" and assurances really don't mean anything.
And yet, despite Trump canceling those arms control agreements with Russia and arming Ukraine, he was caricatured as Putin's bitch by the Democrats. SMH
Well, a lot of his "supporters" will claim that anything Trump did negatively towards Russia was because of "Russia gate". They ignore him bragging about arming Ukraine with lethal weapons and claiming he was tougher on Russia than anyone else AFTER he left office.
The policy of encircling Russia with NATO was doomed to cause Russian blow back.
And eventually a Chinese blowback too. A hypothetical fall of Russia would mean NATO expending east all the way to Vladivostok.
There have been some talks, that's wonderful. But America is still supplying weapons and intelligence to Ukraine and the killing continues on the frontline.
Simply stated, I wouldn't rejoice just yet, nothing of any significance has been agreed at this point.
I think it's very encouraging that Putin is standing firm on Russia's demands (which are just) and that Trump is not trowing a tantrum in response and walking away from the negotiations (like he did with the North Koreans in Vietnam).
Let's see what eventually transpires… this is just the first step and a comprehensive peace plan may take years to negotiate.
World does not have years. USA will have civil war before long. Very bad situation.
"USA will have civil war before long" – it is highly unlikely.
That it'll happen, or that it'll take long ?
I am not confident the USA will experience a politically motivated civil war in the coming years.
But once Trump's done monkeying about with international matters, he (like all emperors and empires of history) will turn his full attention to the sociopolitical landscape of the USA.
And when that happens, and if Trump stays loyal to his White Christian Nationalist benefactors, I hold high confidence that a theocratic United States of America certainly will see a religious civil war.
As the worst elements of the Evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons, Southern Baptists (and any other wealthy Christian denominations) come to recognize their irreconcilable differences (half those I mentioned, already view the other half as blasphemous cults) and insist that THEIR One True™ Christian sect will not share power with idolators and false teachings.
I don't necessarily see it a religious civil war among Christian denominations. More like a troglodyte right-wing Christo-fascist central government against blue states like California that do not wish to be dragged back to the Middle Ages.
And since the cops and the National Guard here in California are very much MAGA, I dread what's gonna happen.
It will be one big clusterfuck with so many different factions with so many different agendas going after each other that you'll need a scorecard to keep track of who is killing who.
It's an important step, and no one had any plans of "trowing" a tantrum, other than Biden who said multiple times that Russia needed to be broken apart.
Give us a good laugh, what supposedly fell apart with North Korea? They stopped their nuclear missile test program due to Trump. For fun you tell us what you expected out of the talks.
You folks are upset that Trump's progress hurts your narrative. So then, of course, we get this "it will take years" narrative, which we already know.
March 19: Kiev violated Trump-mediated infrastructure ceasefire – Moscow
The Ukrainian military allegedly attacked an energy site deep inside Russia after it announced a pause on long-range strikes
The Ukrainian military has attacked an oil transfer facility in Russia’s Krasnodar Region that services an international pipeline operation partially owned by American investors, the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced on Wednesday.
https://www.rt.com/russia/614485-ukraine-violate-ceasefire-trump/
Accompanying image is Trump and Zelensky having a laugh.
My understanding is that the drones were launched within an hour of the announcement. Russia replied by taking out another electrical substation.
Maybe. I don’t know the details, Russian media is still cheering the ceasefire (contradictory but what Putin says is sacred to them).
There doesn't yet seem to be any "ceasefire" to "violate."
Trump and Putin talked about ending the fighting, but the fighting continues.
Zelinskyy seems willing to fight to the last Ukrainian before escaping to his Swiss chalet.
"… Swiss chalet."
That's funny, I always figured Zelenskiyy for an Outback Steakhouse kind of guy.
Me, after that piano shtick, I see him at a nudist colony somewhere. :p
A cake half baked does not feed anyone!….
It serves the purpose for awhile.
Raw cookie dough tastes good (the eggless variety)
The White House said that Trump and Putin also agreed “that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has huge upside. This includes enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved.”
No shit. So, how is that different from the last 35 years? And what does it mean in the short term? Nothing.
We are so stupid. We want WW3 with people who want to sell us oil and refrigerators for cheap. But something is happening. Take a look at the USD to Ruble value YTD. Is somebody buying Russian oil?
That is a bunch of nonsense. What is different here, and you pretend to miss it, is that the US and Russia are making progress in a peace agreement.
What your post means in any term is NOTHING. You resent Trump making progress. Since you refuse to recognize what is going on, we got NOTHING out of you. And excrement has nothing to do with this, adolescent.
And what isn't different is that the US and Russia having an improved bilateral relationship always had a huge upside. But you're too dense to understand what I was saying. And once more, it doesn't mean shit short term.
And speaking of excrement, where have you been? Were you laying low as your cult leader gave Israel the green light to restart their genocide on the poor bastards in Gaza? Or how you claimed that Trump bitched about Biden bombing Yemen and yet Trump just did the same? Or how about Trump threatening Iran for anything the Houthis might do?
Prizz knows there's no defending Don Genocide there. He's waiting for an unexpected, unintended benefit to strangely emerge from each of those situations, at which point he'll claim it was Trump's Master Plan All Along and insist credit where credit wasn't ever due.
It gets into Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy territory.
No wonder Timbit Tim Burns can't stand you. Your fervent adoration of Don Genocide Trump outshines Burns's fervent adoration of All Things Apartheid State of Israel.
You're like two fans arguing over whether Hootie & The Blowfish or Counting Crows are the best '90s music group – while the rest of us know they both f**king suck.
Ooh who were you responding to?
Oh ! You can’t see The Prisoner. That’s who.
You’re missing out on half of what never is an intellectual summit between them.
Oh yeah, the prisoner blocked me.
I try not to miss him /s
Your aim will improve.
Putin thinks that if he is at the table, then he is not on the menu. He's wrong. Russia always was and always is on the menu. Just look at the map.
Good public relations though.
20% after 3 years
Look at all the peace talks around the world. They mean nothing. It looks like the more peace talks we have the more wars are generated. Besides, the US never sticks to any treaties anyway starting with the native American treaties. Gaza "cease fire" treaty was supposed to go into phase 2 but Trump and Netanyahu just ignored it, broke it and blamed it on Hamas. Putin would be a fool to agree 100% to what the US suggests.
Russia already broke the ceasefire
There’s no ceasefire to break. Trump and Putin talked about one. Putin allegedly responded positively. Zelenskyy allegedly responded positively as well. A car dealer showing two people a Ferrari and both of them thinking it’s a nice car is not the same thing as their signatures on a contract to go halvesies on it.
Thank you President Trump. No more of that "for as long as it takes" nonsense.
Lol
@luisaldamiz:disqus why?
Off topic. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Russia-Venezuela relations.
https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/2003374/
https://energynews.pro/en/military-and-oil-agreements-venezuela-and-russia-strengthen-their-strategic-alliance/
There's no mention of Russian military bases in Venezuela.
How on earth Putin could deal with Genocide Trump…?! I guess whatever Trump does in Gaza is non of Putin's business…!