Russian President Vladimir Putin evaluated that his agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump on March 30 for a 30-day suspension of energy and infrastructure attacks and prisoner exchange was just a minimal concession.
On the same day, President Putin conveyed to President Trump that he could not accept the '30-day ceasefire proposal' that the U.S. and Ukraine had agreed upon right after the meeting in Saudi Arabia last week, and demanded a halt to security and intelligence support for Ukraine.
In this context, major foreign media noted that while the U.S. and Ukraine pressured Russia for a 30-day ceasefire agreement, they were only able to secure a limited agreement, far from the actual goal, and President Putin has maintained the conditions he set forth.
Moreover, President Putin emphasized that the 'root cause of the crisis' must be addressed, insisting that Russia's security interests must be considered. This could be interpreted as a message that he will not leave military resources on Ukrainian territory, which is a condition unacceptable to both Ukraine, where security is directly linked to national survival, and Europe, which is trying to prevent a Russian re-invasion by deploying peacekeeping forces in Ukraine.
The Financial Times (FT) stated that 'there were no signs that Putin was willing to compromise on his extreme goals,' and added, 'His aim is essentially to end Ukraine's existence as an independent country and to reverse much of NATO's expansion to the east of the old Iron Curtain.'
Europe is paying close attention to whether President Trump will accept President Putin's demands. President Trump cut military support and intelligence sharing after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ended in disaster at the end of last month.
Immediately after the phone call, instead of criticizing President Putin for not accepting a full ceasefire, President Trump assessed it as 'very good and productive.' Sky News commented, 'What matters is Trump's next action,' noting, 'Everything he has done so far has put Ukraine and European allies in a difficult position.'