337
The first serious test for the new relationship between the United States and Russia will be the unwillingness of Kremlin ruler Putin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
According to Bloomberg, the Kremlin is showing no intention of giving in or weakening the fighting, while Washington has already refused to call Russia an aggressor, and has also stated that Ukraine's accession to NATO and the return of territories occupied by Russia are unrealistic.
Russian sources told the publication that Moscow is cautious about the warming of relations between Trump and Putin, as they do not fully understand the White House's strategy and are wary of traps. And Trump's post, in which he calls Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator, has generally stunned Kremlin officials.
The differences lie in the fact that Trump wants to ensure a ceasefire by Easter and also supports sending European peacekeepers to Ukraine, while Moscow opposes the deployment of foreign troops and also seeks to limit the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Senior Research Fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasian Center, Tetyana Stanova, believes that the prospect of a major deal is currently unlikely:
“Putin’s key goal remains a ‘friendly Ukraine,’ which is not about territorial demarcations or the security of the contact line, but about guarantees that Ukraine as a whole will turn away from the path of Western development.”
