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After weeks of diplomatic tension, on Tuesday the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, announced that Ukraine had signed up to a 30-day ceasefire agreement. As the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, explains to Michael Safi, this deal would cover the whole of Ukraine and by accepting it, Ukraine will again receive military aid and intelligence sharing from the US. However, issues such as borders, elections and Ukrainian membership of Nato or the EU are not a part of this deal and will need to be finalised at a later stage.
Having followed Russian negotiations during the Syrian civil war, Wintour describes the Russians as ‘masters at delay’ and on Thursday night at a press conference in Moscow, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, made it clear that while he supported the US attempt at a deal he could not sign up to it as is.
The Russian affairs correspondent, Pjotr Sauer, explains that with the Russians on the verge of expelling Ukrainian forces from their territory in Kursk, every day of delay leaves Putin in a stronger position. With Trump’s reputation as a ‘peacemaker’ on the line and with Russia already facing heavy tariffs, Putin is also being courted with offers of future financial benefit for Russia if it was to accept any deal. Sauer says that while achieving a ceasefire agreement may well take time, perceptions among Russians are quickly changing in favour of the US and against the rest of Europe.
