Serious stage in US-Russia talks: Will Putin cease fire?

Washington expects a response from Russia to the proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine by the end of this week. This was announced by US President Donald Trump.

“We will hear their response very soon. We want to stop the executions,” he said.

Trump also said that the US and Ukraine could sign a natural resources agreement by April 24. This agreement will serve to cover the “debt” of military aid provided to Ukraine. According to Bloomberg, this amount was reduced from $ 300 billion to $ 100 billion during the negotiations.

What if Putin doesn't agree?

According to Axios, if Russia does not cease firing by the end of April, the US is ready to tighten sanctions. This could include imposing tariffs of up to 500% on countries that buy Russian oil.

According to Fox News, Trump is unhappy with Putin for the delay in the negotiations. The White House is discussing tougher measures against Russia's "shadow fleet."

What will happen to the energy moratorium?

On April 18, the moratorium on mutual attacks on energy facilities between Russia and Ukraine will expire. The Kremlin has not yet officially announced its extension. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that "clear signals" have been sent to the US.

What is the Kremlin saying?

Dmitry Peskov said that there are difficulties in the negotiations:
"The process is quite complicated," he stressed. The Kiev regime and EU countries are cited as the reasons for this.

According to The Moscow Times, Putin is still maintaining a maximalist position in the negotiations. The Russian side has demanded the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson to the Russian Federation with their full administrative borders. In addition, it has been proposed to capture part of Dnepropetrovsk or Sumy and then exchange it.

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