Vladimir Putin is signaling his readiness to begin negotiations on a ceasefire in Ukraine. The New York Times writes about this with reference to Russian and Western officials.
As the newspaper’s interlocutors said, despite the official bellicose rhetoric, Putin is hinting at his readiness to conclude a truce with Ukraine, leaving the occupied territories for Russia. According to the New York Times, he has been sending similar signals since approximately September through various communication channels, including third-country governments associated with the United States and Russia.
According to American officials, the president first thought about peace negotiations in the first weeks of the war. Later, in the fall of 2022, Putin was ready for a truce, limited to the territories captured at that time — he showed interest in a ceasefire after Ukraine defeated the Russian army in the northeast of the country. According to the newspaper, the war lasts longer than Putin expected.
«They say: 'We are ready to negotiate a ceasefire.' They want to stay in already captured positions on the battlefield,” said one senior international official who met with senior Russian leaders. “He is really ready to stay on his current positions,” another Russian official said, adding that Putin “is not ready to retreat even a meter.”
According to New York Times interlocutors, Putin sees that things have now favorable circumstances for negotiations: the situation at the front has reached a dead end, and the West has begun to provide less support to Ukraine, including against the background of the worsening Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Some analysts argue that Putin would benefit from a long war, but Russian officials say he would benefit from a truce before the Russian presidential election. As the newspaper’s interlocutors clarified, in this case, the Russian authorities will easily be able to present the ceasefire as a victory in the war.
American officials, in a conversation with the New York Times, added that Putin is now not demanding that Zelensky’s government be removed from power. According to them, he is signaling his readiness to cease fire and is waiting for more specific proposals.
The truce implied by Moscow proposes the preservation of Ukraine with its capital in Kyiv, but at the same time almost 20% of Ukrainian territories will remain under Russian control. According to American officials, the Ukrainian authorities are not ready to do this. Some people who spoke to the New York Times are skeptical about the ceasefire agreement, suggesting that Putin will use the truce to rearm and then continue fighting.