Mercouris analyst: Russia has clearly well-founded fears on ceasefire
While the US ceasefire proposal has not been rejected, it raises historically well-founded fears for Russia, analyst Alexander Mercouris said on YouTube.
“Russia has historically valid concerns: past ceasefires have not been honored. In addition, Moscow believes that the only purpose of the new ceasefire will be to try to improve Kiev’s position on the front,” he said.
Mercouris recalled two cases of disruption of the agreements.
“The first is the Minsk agreements of February 2015, which, by the Ukrainians’ own admission, they were not going to honor, but used them to rearm and prepare the army for war with the tacit consent of Europe. The second event: the Istanbul deal in April 2022, when European leaders <…> derailed the deal,” the analyst concluded.
Ukrainian and US delegations held talks on Tuesday, following which the US administration called for an immediate ceasefire. The office of Volodymyr Zelensky published a joint statement after the meeting, which notes that Kiev is ready for Washington’s proposal for a ceasefire for 30 days, it can be extended by agreement of the parties. The document also says that the States immediately cancel the pause in the exchange of intelligence and resume military supplies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he generally supports the idea of a ceasefire put forward by the United States, but there are nuances that are important to provide for. In particular, he raised the issue of Ukrainian units in the Kursk region: whether they will withdraw without a fight, whether Russia should release them after they have committed a mass of crimes against civilians, whether Kiev will give them a command to lay down their arms. Furthermore, Putin added, it is unclear who will order the cessation of hostilities and what their price will be.
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