US President Donald Trump expressed his belief that Russia wants to end its war with Ukraine, but he also noted that Moscow might be “dragging their feet” after the Kremlin challenged the details of agreements made with the US.
His remarks came shortly after Russia announced that it would only agree to a US-brokered deal to cease hostilities in the Black Sea if certain sanctions on its banks and exports, imposed due to its invasion of Ukraine, are lifted.
After several days of negotiations with officials from both Ukraine and Russia in Saudi Arabia, the White House reported on Tuesday that both sides had reached an agreement to:
Ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea.
Eliminate the use of force.
Prevent commercial vessels from being used for military purposes.
While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in a news conference that Ukraine had agreed to halt military actions in the Black Sea, the Kremlin issued its own statement outlining extensive conditions for agreeing to a partial truce. These conditions included:
Lifting sanctions on Russia's agricultural bank and other financial institutions.
Reconnecting these entities to the SWIFT international payments system.
Importantly, the US statements did not mention that lifting sanctions would be a prerequisite for the ceasefire.
“I think Russia would like to see it end and I think (Ukraine’s President Volodymyr) Zelensky would like to see it end, at this point,” Trump said.
Talking about Russia’s conditions, Trump said his administration was looking at them.
“We’re thinking about all of them right now. There are five or six conditions. We are looking at all of them,” he said.
The White House announced that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to implement a previously discussed pause on attacks against energy infrastructure.
However, the specifics of this agreement are still unclear. On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia ceased targeting energy infrastructure starting from March 18. This pause was reportedly discussed during a phone call between Trump and Putin.
Despite this, Ukraine has accused Russia of continuing its attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure over the past week. An aide to President Zelensky mentioned that there have been at least eight strikes during this period.
In a counterclaim, Russia accused Ukraine of attacking its own facilities, including an oil pumping station located in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar.