Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly eager to drag out ceasefire talks with Ukraine in order to get the best terms possible. However, he is likely to end up agreeing to a truce, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
The outlet added that Russian officials didn't discuss with U.S. counterparts the deal agreed to by Ukraine in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, but the framework is unacceptable for Moscow. The Kremlin has said for Russia to stop the fighting, the parameters of a more long-term agreement needs to be outlined.
Putin has said in the past that short-term ceasefires are not the way to end the war: "We don't need a truce, we need a long-term peace secured by guarantees for the Russian Federation and its citizens," he said in December, adding that "how to ensure these guarantees" was a "difficult question."
The Russian president said last June that in order to achieve peace Ukraine must officially drop any ambitions to join NATO and withdraw from the regions claimed by the country, which represent about a fifth of its territory.
The country could also demand a halt to weapons supplies to Ukraine as a condition for the ceasefire, the outlet added, citing a person close to the Kremlin.
The report adds to contrasting analyses coming from Moscow, as Reuters also reported on Wednesday that senior Russians are skeptical about the ceasefire proposal, considering Moscow is currently in a strong position in the battlefield.
Citing senior sources, the outlet said that Putin would need guarantees in order to move forward given the country's current upper hand in the war. Without them, the scenario could quickly change and Moscow then be blamed on the world scene for being reluctant to end the war.
One source said the proposal could be seen as a "trap" from Russia's perspective given the need for guarantees or pledges for any order to halt the fighting. Another one claimed that the proposal was a mere disguise of the real development, which was the resumption of military aid and intelligence sharing from the U.S. toward Ukraine.
The U.S. is expected to take the ceasefire proposal to Moscow following Kyiv's acceptance. Speaking to press in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope Russia will "say yes to peace."
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