The Syrian effect: Putin ‘supports’ Trump’s call for Ukraine ceasefire

Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: Call it the impact of the sudden collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, a worried Russia may agree to an early ceasefire in its almost three-year-old ongoing war in Ukraine, as Moscow also sought to blame Kyiv for “rejecting” peace proposals, the media reported on Tuesday.

After US President-elect Donald Trump’s fresh calls for an “immediate ceasefire” in Ukraine, Russia on Monday said it is “open to negotiations” with Ukraine.

The Kremlin said that President Vladimir Putin welcomes peace initiatives, especially those coming from Global South nations and Russia’s BRICS partners.

Trump’s call came after he met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron on November 7 in Paris at the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral.

After the meeting, the Republican leader wrote on his Truth Social platform that “There should be an immediate ceasefire, and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed.”

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov and posted on X, “We have carefully read the statement by US President-elect Donald Trump, made after he met with Macron and Zelenskyy in Paris. Russia is open to negotiations on Ukraine and welcomes peace initiatives. The conditions required to cease the hostilities were laid out by President (Vladimir) Putin.”

The Russian President welcomed peace initiatives, especially those “coming from countries of the Global South, as well as our BRICS partners, including China, Brazil, and South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, which are engaged in work on the humanitarian track.”

Peskov, however, pointed out Ukraine’s “rejection” of negotiations, accusing Zelenskyy of using a decree to block negotiations with Moscow.

“Our stance is well known. The conditions required to cease the hostilities immediately were laid out by President Putin in June this year in his speech at Russia’s Foreign Ministry,” the statement said.

“What bears reminding here is that it was Ukraine that rejected negotiations, and the country still rejects them. Moreover, Zelenskyy has, by his decree, banned himself and his presidential office from making any engagements with the Russian leadership. This particular stance of theirs remains unchanged.”

The Kremlin spokesperson also said all that the Ukraine president has to do to enter a path of peace is to revoke his decree, issue orders for resuming dialogue on the basis of arrangements made in Istanbul, and take into account the realities of today.

While Trump has repeatedly said that he will bring an end to the Ukraine war, the two countries involved in the conflict have not fully engaged in a dialogue for peace. What began as conflict with Russia’s Crimean annexation in 2014 turned into a full-blown war in February 2022, when Moscow invaded Ukraine.