Putin aide says Russia has not lost hope for ceasefire in Ukraine

Moscow: Hours before the much-anticipated phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the latter’s top aide on Tuesday stated that Moscow has not lost hope of a possible ceasefire in Ukraine.

“It has been a week since the ceasefire proposal. And, what do we see? The most powerful attack of APU drones on Russian territory in history. And then another attack. But, we are not losing hope. We are clinging to everything. But both the US and Russian presidents need to talk to each other,” Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told Kommersant about the expectations from the upcoming telephonic conversation between the two Presidents.

The top official also stressed that both leaders did not engage in any kind of conversation after the visit of Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow.

Ukraine accepted the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire following the talks in Saudi Arabia on March 11. On March 13, Witkoff held talks with Putin in Moscow to learn about his position. Putin said that Russia agrees to the suspension of hostilities, but it is necessary to agree on a lot of nuances. Trump is confident that Moscow will agree to a 30-day truce.

Russia on Monday had confirmed that a phone call between US President Trump and his Russian counterpart Putin will take place on Tuesday. “Yes, this is indeed the case. Such a conversation is being prepared for Tuesday,” state-run news agency TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

The Kremlin noted that talking points on all pressing issues, first of all on the Ukrainian settlement, would be prepared for the conversation to be held on Tuesday.

Addressing reporters on Sunday, Trump stated that he was planning a conversation with the Russian President on Tuesday. He emphasised paying special attention to territorial and infrastructure issues within the framework of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Trump said he would speak with Putin about the war in Ukraine and added that there had already been discussions about “dividing up certain assets”. The US President further expressed hope that Moscow would agree to a ceasefire proposal.

“We want to see if we can bring that war to an end. Maybe we can, maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance I’ll be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday. A lot of work’s been done over the weekend,” the US President told reporters on Sunday.

The last telephone conversation between both Presidents took place on February 12. During the hour-and-a-half discussion, the leaders of the two countries discussed the Ukrainian issue as well as the accumulated problems in relations between the two countries

IANS