A Russian negotiator involved in peace talks said a ceasefire deal with Ukraine could be further away than a number of Trump administration officials in the US had hoped
A Russian negotiator has warned that peace talks with the US on the war in Ukraine could drag into 2026. Grigory Karasin, who led talks with the US in Saudi Arabia on March 24, said on Friday that there may be no decisive results from talks with the US.
“It would have been naive to expect any breakthroughs,” Karasin said to Russian state TV Channel Rossiya 24. This goes against previous assertions from the Trump administration that a deal to bring an end to the war could be reached swiftly.
It comes after Russia effectively rejected a 30-day pause in the fighting proposed by the US. It also asked for sanctions against food and fertiliser to be lifted – along with the rowing back of EU economic sanctions – after the US said it would “help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertiliser exports” for a ceasefire in the Black Sea.
Europe is currently not keen to lift sanctions and Kremlin critics are sceptical Russia wants much progress in peace talks as it makes incremental gains on the battlefield. US President Donald Trump said on March 25 Russia might be “dragging their feet”.
Military analysts in Ukraine assess Russia’s forces are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in the coming weeks to maximise the pressure on Ukraine and strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ceasefire talks. They believe the Kremlin is preparing a multi-pronged push across the 621-mile front line.
Putin, meanwhile, said on Thursday that Russian forces are close to “finishing off” Ukrainian defenders. “On the entire front line, the strategic initiative is completely in the hands of the Russian armed forces,” Mr Putin said on Thursday at a forum in the Arctic port of Murmansk. “Our troops, our guys are moving forward and liberating one territory after another, one settlement after another, every day.”
Ukrainian military commanders said Russia recently stepped up attacks to improve its tactical positions ahead of the expected broader offensive. “They need time until May, that’s all,” said Ukrainian military analyst Pavlo Narozhnyi, who works with soldiers and learns about intelligence from them.
A larger offensive would give Putin reason to delay progress in talks, the analysts said, renewing their country’s repeated arguments that Russia has no intention of engaging in meaningful dialogue to end the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s assessment chimed with that of analysts. Citing intelligence reports, he said Russia is getting ready for new offensives in the northeast Sumy, Kharkiv and Zaporizizhia regions.
“They’re dragging out the talks and trying to get the US stuck in endless and pointless discussions about fake ‘conditions’ just to buy time and then try to grab more land,” Mr Zelensky said on Thursday during a visit to Paris. “Putin wants to negotiate over territory from a stronger position.”