Putin reluctant to sign off on ‘energy truce’ before winter — report
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Vladimir Putin (Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS)
Russia and Ukraine have resumed talks on a possible energy
truce, but Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is in no hurry to reach an
agreement before winter, the Financial Times reported
on Sept. 14.
“Donald Trump said Ukraine and Russia had agreed to halt strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure, appearing to announce a deal that caught Ukrainian officials off guard in the absence of credible Russian guarantees,” the article said, referring to a Truth Social announcement the U.S. president made hours previously.
Putin believes winter strikes on Ukraine’s energy system could increase pressure on Kyiv and force it to make concessions, which is why he is reluctant to agree to a truce now, the FT said.
Sources directly involved in peace talks among the United States, Ukraine, and Russia told the FT that the parties had discussed a truce covering energy facilities for some time. The issue was initially raised during trilateral meetings and, after those talks broke down in February, in separate meetings and through back channels.
“For months, Ukraine has pressed Russia to agree to a reciprocal pause in strikes on energy facilities as well as attacks against ports and other critical infrastructure, according to the officials,” the report stated.
“But Moscow had shown no interest, declining Kyiv’s overtures and instead intensifying its attacks, they said.”
Two senior Ukrainian officials told the FT they believed Trump wanted to show a U.S. public frustrated by high fuel prices that he was working to bring them down.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said any truce “to
be reliable, long-lasting and have a real impact on people’s lives” would
require an end to the war itself. At the same time, he acknowledged that an
agreement to mutually halt attacks on critical infrastructure could be “a step
toward de-escalation” and “the first step toward peace.”
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