Putin in no rush to follow 'Trump time' ceasefire proposal

President Trump’s peculiar envoy Steve Witkfoff visited Moscow to conscionable with Russian President Vladimir Putin to sermon Trump’s projected ceasefire successful Ukraine connected Thursday. While the White House has yet to remark connected the meeting, Russian media reported that it had taken spot precocious Thursday and that Putin had sent a "message" to Trump via Witkoff.

During a Thursday property conference, Putin thanked Trump for his efforts to extremity the struggle successful Ukraine and said that helium was "for" the thought but that "there are nuances." In a seven-minute-30-second speech, the Russian strongman outlined a database of issues associated with concluding a 30-day ceasefire, including difficulties with verifying imaginable violations. Before Putin’s address, statesmanlike assistance Yuri Ushakov, speaking on Russian nationalist TV, had ruled retired a impermanent ceasefire, calling it "some steps imitating peaceful activities."  Putin indicated that helium wanted to person a telephone telephone with President Trump.

Zelenskyy slammed Putin for being "very manipulative" and accused Putin of "actually preparing a refusal." Late past month, Trump slammed Zelenskyy for declaring that the bid woody was "very acold away," calling it "the worst statement" and saying, "America volition not enactment up with it for overmuch longer!" 

TRUMP’S ART OF WAR: WIN WITHOUT FIGHTING

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a associated quality league with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pursuing their talks astatine the Grand Kremlin Palace successful Moscow, Russia, connected Thursday, March 13, 2025.  (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

But Zelenskyy is correct – bid successful Ukraine is simply a agelong mode off. Putin is highly improbable to judge President Trump’s existent bid plan. Here’s why.

Famous for his tireless enactment ethic, Trump demands that his unit execute things astatine grounds speeds, oregon "in Trump time," arsenic Peter Navarro, the president’s elder advisor and main designer of Trump’s tariff doctrine called it successful his best-selling book, with the aforesaid name. 

It is understandable that Trump wants to support his run committedness and halt the bloodshed connected the Eurasian landmass quickly.

Vladimir Putin, left, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, close (Reuters/AP)

But with each owed respect to President Trump and his accomplishments, the Russia-Ukraine concern is highly complex. Russia has a precise antithetic strategical civilization from Western culture. And Putin is an wholly antithetic benignant of carnal from anyone Trump has dealt with before. Russian thinking, and its narration with time, are epitomized successful a celebrated saying: "The much dilatory you go, the farther you volition get." 

First, arsenic Trump said, correctly, during the property conference, Putin "has each the cards." And Vladmir Putin is not successful a hurry. He wants to extremity the warfare but lone connected his terms, which, if accepted by the U.S., would humiliate Washington. 

On March 6th, Putin publically ruled retired making immoderate concessions connected Ukraine. "We don’t request thing that belongs to others, but we volition not springiness up what’s ours," helium said successful a code broadcast connected Russian nationalist TV.

Putin believes helium tin telephone the shots. Unconscionable Russian (and Ukrainian) losses notwithstanding, Russia is susceptible of dragging this warfare retired for years. Indeed, Putin has been processing his strategy ever since helium became president, a 4th of a period ago. He transitioned his subject and system connected a wartime footing and sanction-proofed Russia 7 years anterior to the penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022. It is wherefore the Russians mostly dismissed Trump’s menace of "large-scale" sanctions. "To talk with Russia from the presumption of spot and to endanger with sanctions is simply a roadworthy to nowhere," said State Duma Representative from the Crimea Region Yuri Nesterenko.

Additional sanctions are highly improbable to alteration Putin’s determination calculus. They haven’t frankincense far, contempt the information that Washington has been trying to choke Moscow for a decade. The severity of U.S. sanctions connected Russia tops the sanctions placed connected Hitler’s Germany during World War II. The Russians judge determination is thing Trump tin bash to apical Biden’s sanctions.

INSIDE PUTIN’S MINDSET: WHAT TEAM TRUMP CAN EXPECT FROM MOSCOW WHEN NEGOTIATING OPTIONS ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

In this photograph provided by the National Police of Ukraine, firefighters enactment to extinguish a occurrence aft a Russian onslaught connected an flat gathering country successful the municipality of Uman, 200 kilometres (125 miles) southbound of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, April 28, 2023.  (National Police of Ukraine via AP)

To neutralize the effect of aboriginal U.S. sanctions, Putin de-dollarized Russia’s overseas speech reserves, beefed up the Sovereign Wealth Fund to an all-time-high, and launched an import-substitution programme to spur indigenous production, minimizing Russia’s reliance connected imports. Moscow besides stood up a shadiness tanker fleet to proceed lipid exports, clandestinely.

Second, Ushakov’s rejection of Trump’s connection of a impermanent ceasefire is not surprising. Putin has indicated aggregate times that a impermanent interruption successful warring was retired of the question as he doesn’t privation to springiness a strategical intermission to Ukraine, Europe oregon the U.S., to rearm. In June, speaking astatine the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Putin said that impermanent bid "will not enactment for Moscow, arsenic adversaries volition usage the freezing of the struggle to replenish Ukraine’s combat losses and shortage successful armaments."

Indeed, Russia, being connected a wartime footing, present produces much weapons successful 3 months than the full NATO confederation successful 1 year, according to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Putin besides accrued Russia’s equipped forces supra the constitutionally allowable size, to guarantee that Russia tin combat till the past Ukrainian.

A convoy of pro-Russian troops moves on a roadworthy successful Mariupol, Ukraine, successful April 2022. (Reuters/Chingis Kondarov)

Ukraine is outmanned, outgunned and lacking due war-fighting capabilities, emboldening Putin to proceed what helium started, aiming for Ukraine’s afloat capitulation.

Third, there’s a bid of ineligible impediments that Moscow and Kyiv indispensable resoluteness earlier immoderate woody tin beryllium signed. Neither has shown immoderate signs of willingness to resoluteness them. Even erstwhile they hold to bash so, it volition instrumentality time. Things successful Ukraine and Russia do not hap successful Trump time.

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Putin ruled retired negotiating with Zelenskyy, having told authorities Rossiya 1 TV that "he [Zelenskyy] has nary close to motion anything," having called the Ukrainian person "illegitimate." Indeed, Zelenskyy’s statesmanlike word expired successful May. 

The Ukrainian parliament, astatine the extremity of February, rebuffed U.S. calls for elections by passing a solution that ruled retired elections during wartime, citing martial law, successful compliance with the Ukrainian constitution. On February 5th, Zelenskyy approved the hold of martial instrumentality until May 9th. 

President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy successful the Oval Office astatine the White House connected Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, successful Washington.  (AP Photo/ Mystyslav Chernov)

Moreover, successful October 2022, Zelenskyy prohibited negotiations with Putin by a statesmanlike decree, having declared that Ukraine would negociate lone with "another president of Russia." Even if the ineligible quagmire is resolved, organizing and holding elections volition instrumentality time.

If a bid program for Ukraine is to beryllium achieved, it volition astir surely not beryllium achieved successful Trump time, but much apt successful Putin time.

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There’s nary shame if Trump fails to resoluteness the Russia-Ukraine conundrum, successful Trump time. The shame is connected Biden and Obama, whose careless policies brought Russia and Ukraine to each other's throats. Trump inherited a gigantic geopolitical mess, which was years successful the making.

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