Major European powers doubt whether Putin is ready to make real concessions or will stick to what they see as his maximalist demands, which do not appear to have changed since he sent troops into Ukraine in 2022.
Putin says he is ready to discuss peace but that Ukraine must officially drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw its troops from the entirety of four Ukrainian regions that Russia has unilaterally annexed.
“The key question is, this interim ceasefire at sea and on energy infrastructure… does that buy time for cooler heads to prevail and for both sides to make compromises?” Kupchan told CNA’s Asia First programme.
“It’s better than nothing, but we are still far from a deal that will end this war.”
White House national security adviser Mike Waltz told CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday that the US, Russian and Ukrainian delegations were assembled in the same facility in Riyadh.
Beyond a Black Sea ceasefire, Waltz said the teams would discuss the “line of control” between the two armies, which he described as “verification measures, peacekeeping, freezing the lines where they are”.
