Zelensky and Trump discuss ceasefire for energy attacks

Zelensky and Trump discuss ceasefire for energy attacks

The White House intensifies its efforts to implement President Donald Trump's long-term promise to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In the coming days, Washington, Moscow and Kiev are expected to send official representatives for talks to Saudi Arabia.

talks with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia

The talks follow the following consecutive phone calls from Trump with the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj on Wednesday and the Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, in which both government leaders approved a break for attacks on energy goals. However, the details of this break are unclear and deviate from the broader one -month ceasefire agreement proposed by the USA, which Ukraine had approved at the beginning of this month.

Different interpretations of the agreements

"The two leaders also agreed on a partial ceasefire in relation to energy," said a statement by the Trump administration on the phone call between Trump and Selenskyj. In this statement it was also mentioned that "technology teams will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days". At these meetings, US and Russian civil servants are to work out more specific formulations for the agreement achieved by Trump and Putin, and discuss other negotiation topics, including the extension of the agreement to the Black Sea on the way to a complete ceasefire. According to the US State Department, the talks are not accompanied by high-ranking cabinet members.

ambiguities and skepticism in Ukraine

The next steps raise questions about what exactly Trump and Putin agreed during their conversation on Tuesday and how this is interpreted in Ukraine, which is still being attacked by Russia. At a press conference on Wednesday evening, Selenskyj said that the proposed break in attacks on Ukrainian and Russian goals would be "most likely" for "energy systems". The protection of the "civilian infrastructure" was also an issue.

divergences in the official communications

The separate communications for the conversation between Trump and Putin, which were provided by the White House and the Kremlin, used different terms to describe the temporary break in energy -related attacks. Washington spoke of "energy and infrastructure", while Moscow spoke of "energy infrastructure". This small linguistic difference could be important, since a break for infrastructure attacks would have a much more comprehensive framework.

persistent skepticism and relief goods

Although Selenskyj has signaled that he would agree to the temporary break, he remains skeptical of Putin's intentions of honestly complying with the agreement, especially after Russia's recent attacks on energy goals in Ukraine. In an interview, Trump said that there was no discussion with Putin's conversation about the suspension of relief goods. High US officials confirmed on Wednesday that the US aid would continue for Ukraine.

further steps and military support

During the phone call between Trump and Selenskyj on Wednesday, Trump informed the Ukrainian president about his entertainment with Putin and agreed to exchange the information between her defense teams closely while the situation on the battlefield developed. Selenskyj asked Trump for additional air defense systems, especially patriot rocket defense systems, and Trump agreed to work with him to clarify what is available, especially in Europe.

US policy towards Ukraine in focus

While the White House described the conversation as "fantastic", questions about US politics towards Ukraine remain unanswered. Trump brought the idea to language that the United States could “be very helpful in the administration” of Ukrainian electricity and nuclear power plants. It remains unclear whether Selenskyj is open to this idea. The discussion about the fact that Ukraine is handing over its power plants to the USA accuses parallels of mineral agreements discussed before

outlook on the negotiations

Overall, the White House framed the conversation as an important first step towards "permanent peace", even if the agreements that Trump secured Putin did not reflect the long -term peace goals he promised. Sources that are familiar with the strategy of the White House reported that one of the top priorities consisted of which concessions Moscow is willing to do - especially whether it is willing to deduct troops from the area occupied since the invasion. However, the conversations of this week did not seem to show any progress on this topic.