U.S. President Donald Trump said he believes Russia wants to end the war with Ukraine, but Moscow may “delay their feet” after the Kremlin’s statements about the agreement reached with the United States.
His comments only in Russia said that only once some sanctions were imposed on Ukraine would be implemented a U.S. brokerage deal to stop using force in the Black Sea and to impose force for its invasion of Ukraine.
After separate negotiations with Russian officials in Ukraine and Russia in Saudi Arabia, the White House said on Tuesday that the two sides had agreed to “ensure safe navigation, eliminate force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels in the Black Sea for military purposes.”
But despite Zelensky’s confirmation at a press conference that Ukraine had agreed to stop using military power in the Black Sea, the Kremlin issued its own negotiation statement, which included far-reaching conditions for signing a partial truce.
This includes sanctions on its Agricultural Bank and other financial institutions, as well as companies involved in exporting food exports and reconnecting to the Swift international payment system.
The U.S. statement does not mention that the sanctions filed are a prerequisite for a ceasefire.
“I think Russia wants to see its end, and I think (Ukrainian President Vodimir) Zelensky wants to see its end,” Trump said.
Speaking about the conditions in Russia, Trump said his administration was watching them.
“We are thinking about all of these right now. There are five to six conditions. We are looking at all these conditions,” he said.
Russia and Ukraine also agreed to suspend previously announced pauses in terms of attacks on energy infrastructure, the White House said.
But the details of the agreement are still opaque. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Russia has stopped targeting energy infrastructure from March 18, when Trump and Putin called on a phone call they discussed the proposal.
However, Ukraine accused Moscow of continuing to attack its infrastructure over the past week and told Zelensky’s aides that there were at least eight strikes.
Meanwhile, Russia accused Kief of attacking his facilities, including oil pumping stations in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia.
