Putin’s "Easter truce" was easy diplomatic victory for Kremlin - WSJ
The short-term "Easter truce" announced by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin amid US threats to abandon efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine was an easy diplomatic victory for the Kremlin.
This is reported by the Wall Street Journal, Censor.NET reports.
As noted, the Russian dictator's statement on the introduction of the so-called Easter truce, which should last 30 hours, came the day after Donald Trump's administration threatened to stop participating in ceasefire talks.
According to analysts, the short-term ceasefire proposal "was an easy diplomatic victory for Putin, an attempt to prevent the American side from withdrawing from the talks and a way to position himself as the leader who most wants peace."
At the same time, Putin's statement may indicate a departure from his previous harsh rhetoric, in which he insisted on eliminating the so-called "root causes" of the war before any pause in hostilities. According to Tatyana Stanova, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, such a short pause allows Putin to maintain the initiative and simultaneously create the appearance of peacefulness without weakening his own position.
Back in March, Ukraine supported the US proposal for a full and immediate 30-day pause in the war. However, Putin rejected the initiative, arguing that any pause at this stage would benefit Ukraine. He said that "a lot of unresolved issues" need to be resolved before a ceasefire.
On Friday, April 18, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States is ready to stop trying to resolve Russia's war against Ukraine if an agreement "cannot be reached in the next few weeks."
To recap, the day before, on April 19, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin allegedly announced an Easter truce that would be in effect from 6 p.m. Moscow time on April 19 until midnight on April 21.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's announcement of the so-called Easter truce by saying that it was another of Putin's attempts to play with people's lives.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that the United States would withdraw from peace talks to end the war if one of the parties "complicates the process."
The day before, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that if US efforts to stop the war in Ukraine fail within a few days, Trump will be told that negotiations are no longer a viable option.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio "conveyed the position of President Donald Trump" with his statements.
