WASHINGTON, March 19 — Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday agreed to stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities temporarily but declined to endorse a full 30-day ceasefire that President Donald Trump hoped would be the first step toward a permanent peace deal.
Ukraine said it would support the scaled-back agreement, which would require both countries to hold off firing on each other's energy infrastructure for about a month. Experts said Putin avoided making significant concessions in what could be a play for time as Russian troops advance in eastern Ukraine.
The White House said talks on a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea as well as a more complete ceasefire and a permanent peace deal would begin immediately, following a lengthy call between Trump and Putin yesterday.
It was unclear whether Ukraine would be involved in those talks, which Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
"Up until recently, we really didn't have consensus around these two aspects — the energy and infrastructure ceasefire and the Black Sea moratorium on firing — and today we got to that place, and I think it's a relatively short distance to a full ceasefire from there," Witkoff told Fox News.
The Kremlin did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment, outside business hours, on Witkoff's remarks.
However, it said Putin ordered the Russian military to stop attacks against energy sites after speaking with Trump.
— Reuters
