The administration of US President Donald Trump appears to be 'cautiously optimistic' following expressions from Russian President Vladimir Putin towards Washington's proposal for peace in Ukraine.
According to Reuters, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday (March 15) spoke online at a meeting of about 25 European leaders and other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada (but not the US).
President Putin and President Trump during their meeting in 2019
The parties' moves
In his speech, Prime Minister Starmer said he hoped to see a "coalition of the willing" make firm commitments to help Kyiv before any peace deal and to ensure Ukraine's security afterwards. He also accused President Putin of trying to delay peace talks. If he was serious about peace, Mr. Starmer said, Mr. Putin would have ordered an immediate halt to attacks on Ukraine and agreed to a ceasefire.
Current situation of the battlefield in Ukraine
Graphics: Synthesis
In such a context, there is conflicting information on the battlefield regarding the Kursk region (Russia) - which has been attacked and partially controlled by Ukraine since August 2024. In recent days, many sources have shown that Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from this area. On March 15, The New York Post quoted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as affirming that his country's military campaign in Kursk was a success because it helped to thin out Russian forces. However, President Zelensky did not mention exactly whether Ukraine had withdrawn all its forces from Kursk.
Regarding the situation in Kursk, President Trump wrote on the social network Truth Social on March 14 that "thousands" of Ukrainian soldiers were surrounded, and the White House owner also called on Mr. Putin to "spare the lives" of this group of soldiers. In response, President Putin said he would "spare the lives" if the Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk surrendered. However, many officials and experts from Ukraine and the US have denied the information that Ukrainian forces are surrounded in Kursk, although they admit that the situation is difficult.
However, the withdrawal from Kursk still leaves Kyiv with a negotiating advantage. Not long ago, Mr. Zelensky also proposed to use the Kursk areas controlled by Kyiv in exchange for Ukrainian lands occupied by Russia. Moscow rejected this proposal at that time.
Putin's "move"
Washington, meanwhile, appears to be more cautious about its optimism about peace in Ukraine. According to AP, speaking to reporters at the end of the G7 meeting in Canada, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump administration officials plan to spend the weekend evaluating a report from US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who recently met with Mr. Putin in Russia to discuss a peaceful solution for Ukraine. In contrast, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the need for a call for peace in Ukraine, but said only that there were “some grounds for cautious optimism” on the issue.
Recently, President Putin agreed to the US proposal for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, but at the same time made it clear that the relevant terms need to be discussed. Mr. Putin asked Ukraine to abandon its ambition to join NATO, Russia to control all four regions of Ukraine that Moscow has annexed into Russia, and to limit the size of the Ukrainian army. Along with that, Western sanctions against Russia must be eased, and Ukraine must hold presidential elections.
In an analysis sent to Thanh Nien , Eurasia Group (USA), the world's leading political risk research and consulting firm, also pointed out the challenges posed by President Putin's demands for peace in Ukraine. "Most worrying: President Putin said any agreement must address the "long-term" and "root causes" that led to Russia's military campaign against Ukraine from 2022."
The above "long-term" and "root cause" solutions can be understood as what Russia had put forward in its December 2021 ultimatum to NATO and the US, about 2 months before launching a military campaign against Ukraine. Notably, NATO did not admit Ukraine, NATO had to withdraw troops and weapons from member countries admitted after May 27, 1997. At the same time, NATO did not conduct any military activities on the territory of Ukraine, Eastern European countries, the South Caucasus and in Central Asia. For the US, there were also conditions such as withdrawing medium-range and above missiles from Europe.
These are things that NATO and the US may find difficult to meet. Or simply "limiting the size of the Ukrainian army", which Moscow has previously stated as "demilitarizing Ukraine", is also difficult to get Kyiv to agree to, because Ukraine still insists on needing security guarantees after peace agreements. In fact, if it does not join NATO and is "limited in the size of its army", there will be almost no security guarantees as Kyiv expects.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/giai-ma-nuoc-co-cua-ong-putin-voi-chien-cuoc-ukraine-185250315231330916.htm
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