Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is finding it increasingly difficult to completely ignore the idea of a ceasefire, especially in light of U.S. efforts in this direction.
This opinion was expressed by Eric Ciaramella, a senior fellow with the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in an interview with Ukrinform.
“What we saw over the past few days with this back and forth is that it’s getting hard for Vladimir Putin to completely reject the idea of ceasefire,” the American expert believes.
He noted that the attention President Trump has been paying to stopping the war is significant and has been a goal of his since the campaign trail. According to Ciaramella, despite differing interpretations of the U.S. president’s comments by his advisors, Trump remains generally consistent in his approach.
“And I think by making it such a priority he has in some ways shaped the Ukrainian position to be more in favor of some sort of ceasefire without conditions,” the analyst said.
In his view, “Putin does want to preserve and build this relationship with Trump, and I think that is somehow factoring into his calculus to not say no and to potentially entertain the idea of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine.” The expert added that just a few months ago, from Moscow’s perspective, such an idea lacked any realistic prospects. He also noted that Russian narratives questioning the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have largely disappeared.
Ciaramella also considers the Ukrainian government’s shift to a more flexible approach as a wise move: “saying ‘yes’ to things that Washington is requesting”.
“It’s a yes, but with a little caveat. We’re ready to talk, we want peace, we’re ready to have an unconditional ceasefire – so on and so forth. I think that’s been a very smart pivot by the Ukrainian government to show we’re not the reasons why Trump isn’t getting his peace,” Ciaramella said.
He believes that Putin is being “painted a little bit into a corner ” and is facing a mounting number of dilemmas.
“I don’t think we’re quite there yet, but dilemmas are mounting for Putin where he’s being forced into positions to be seen as more constructive. And I think those can be exploited by Ukrainian and European sides to get some better terms for the negotiating table… I don’t want to say that we’re really on the precipice of a breakthrough but I do think that the attention and the energy coming from Washington is shaking things up in a way that we didn’t see at all over the last three years,” Ciaramella concluded.
As Ukrinform reported, on May 10 Ukraine, along with its allies — France, Germany, the UK, and Poland — proposed a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. In case of a Russian refusal, Ukraine’s allies intend to tighten sanctions against Russia.
Source: Putin being painted into diplomatic corner – U.S. expert
