Summary
- Despite a 75-minute call between President Trump and President Putin, there was reportedly no progress made toward an immediate peace agreement on the war in Ukraine.
- President Putin's designation of Ukraine as terrorists and his statement of intent to retaliate have further reduced the prospects for negotiations.
- It was reported that significant progress in peace talks is lacking and differences over conditions remain large, making it unlikely that the situation on the battlefield will improve in the short term.
U.S. President Donald Trump had a phone call lasting about an hour and 15 minutes with Russian President Vladimir Putin this morning, Eastern Time. However, he acknowledged that he essentially failed to stop the war in Ukraine and achieve peace. In Washington, there is speculation that this call may have caused a delay in the conversation with Lee Jae-myung, the new president of our country.
President Trump hopes to succeed in stopping the war in Ukraine and facilitating peace talks, but on this day, President Putin took a very firm stance, mentioning the recent drone attack by Ukraine and expressing an intention to retaliate. He also rejected Ukraine's proposal for an immediate ceasefire.
This latest Ukrainian attack was a bold strike with drones on a region very far from the frontlines. The Ukrainian government is promoting this as one of their greatest achievements since Russia's full-scale invasion. Although it took a year and a half of preparations to produce this result, from Putin's perspective, it can be seen as creating a situation where negotiations are impossible.
President Trump also tried to persuade Putin not to retaliate, but with President Putin not backing down, it appears there was no progress. On this day, President Putin referred to Ukraine as "terrorists," which indicates that the possibility for further negotiations has significantly decreased.
President Trump commented that the conversation was "good, but is unlikely to lead to immediate peace." According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump said in a private conversation that ending the war in Ukraine will be more difficult than expected.
Negotiations between the two sides are not entirely absent. Previously, through the mediation of Turkey and the United States, the governments of Ukraine and Russia held working-level peace talks, agreeing to exchange about 1,200 prisoners and 6,000 bodies of fallen soldiers. However, due to large differences in conditions required to stop the war, many believe it will be difficult to expect significant improvements in the situation in Ukraine in the short term.
There were also areas of consensus between the two leaders during the call. Both sides agreed that Iran should not possess nuclear weapons with regard to Iran's nuclear program.
Washington = Sang-eun Lee, Correspondent selee@hankyung.com
Korea Economic Daily
hankyung@bloomingbit.ioThe Korea Economic Daily Global is a digital media where latest news on Korean companies, industries, and financial markets.
