US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation late on March 18 (Vietnam time) to discuss peace in the Ukraine conflict.
"Small victory" for both the US and Russia
According to Reuters, during a 90-minute conversation, the Kremlin leader agreed to temporarily halt attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities. But Putin rejected President Trump's proposal for a comprehensive 30-day ceasefire.
However, both sides hope this will be the first step towards a permanent peace agreement. According to the White House, Mr. Putin ordered the Russian military to stop attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure. The White House also said the two leaders agreed to hold talks to reach a maritime ceasefire and, eventually, a comprehensive ceasefire to bring about permanent peace.
However, in order to move towards a comprehensive ceasefire and permanent peace, the Kremlin demands an end to Ukraine's mobilization of troops and rearmament of its armed forces, other countries to end all military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, and the establishment of a ceasefire monitoring mechanism.
An area in Kyiv (Ukraine) was attacked by Russia on March 19.
In an analysis sent to Thanh Nien yesterday (March 19), Eurasia Group (USA) - the world's leading political risk research and consulting unit - commented that the result of the conversation between Presidents Trump and Putin was a "small victory" for both sides because there was a certain progress: Russia agreed to stop attacking Ukraine's energy facilities. Thus, President Putin "passed the ball" back to the responsibility for the upcoming peace talks to the US, Ukraine and the West.
But the challenge remains the same
However, looking at the conditions for permanent peace that Russia has set, the "cornerstone" has hardly changed. Before the conversation with Mr. Trump, in response to the media, President Putin asked Ukraine to give up 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, Moscow still maintains a number of other requirements that, if combined with the above conditions, would be difficult for both NATO and Ukraine to accept.
Dr. Ian Bremmer, President of Eurasia Group, analyzed that Mr. Putin's demand that countries not provide military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine makes it difficult for Kyiv to ensure its own security. "That is something that may be difficult for Europe to accept. President Trump may be willing to negotiate that, and he and President Putin can blame Ukraine and Europe. So President Putin 'gives up' a little bit in the short term to gain more in the long term."
In the short term, according to Dr. Bremmer, under pressure from Washington, Kyiv may agree to a 30-day ceasefire plan, but in the long term there are no convincing signs to ensure the maintenance of the ceasefire.
"What's happening with Ukraine is a bit like what happened around the Gaza ceasefire. It was relatively easy to get the deal done, but the parties didn't really give up the keys. So when it came to the next phase, the parties felt like they weren't getting the benefits. That's why we saw the ceasefire collapse in Gaza, Israel attacking again. And that's why I'm worried that there won't be peace in the end, even though there was a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine," Dr. Bremmer said.
In fact, according to CNN, just hours after the results of the conversation between President Trump and his counterpart Putin were announced, Ukraine and Russia continued to attack each other.
America is about to give up its NATO command seat?
NBC quoted two Pentagon officials as saying that the agency is carrying out a significant restructuring of the US military commands. In particular, the Pentagon is considering the US giving up the role of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe (SACEUR). For the past 70 years, the US has always deployed a general to hold the position of SACEUR. And SACEUR is currently the head of the US European Command, and is also the main commander overseeing support for Ukraine in the current conflict.
President Trump and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have repeatedly stressed that European allies must take more responsibility for the continent’s defense. It is unclear when the restructuring plan will officially take place, but if it does take place, it could face resistance from the US Congress.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thach-thuc-cho-hoa-binh-ukraine-185250319231528664.htm
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