Putin will not begin serious peace negotiations until significant pressure is applied to him, including through strengthened sanctions.
This was stated by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk during a press conference as part of his visit to the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland.
As Tusk noted, he, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and recently joined by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, are “in almost daily contact in various formats” via phone with U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to Tusk, he "does not confirm the information" published by American media that Trump allegedly told European leaders that Putin is not ready to end the war in Ukraine because he believes he is winning.
“But I do confirm that the situation is difficult precisely because there is not even a hint of goodwill on the Russian side when it comes, firstly, to a swift ceasefire, and secondly, to the start of honest peace negotiations,” the Polish Prime Minister emphasized.
He said that European leaders, together with Trump, have voiced a very clear demand: an unconditional ceasefire so that people stop dying in Ukraine even before talks begin.
“Instead, the Russians have used their fairly typical tactic: delay and confuse the issues in order to avoid committing to a ceasefire or seriously engaging in peace talks,” Tusk said.
He stressed that the situation is “difficult but not critical.”
Tusk noted that together with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, they are working “as a duo” to explain to other Western leaders that “Russia is not a partner that can be trusted to fulfill its obligations, that it will always play games – and that’s why pressure is so important.”
“In this format, together with the European Commission, we are focusing on preparing a possible new sanctions package against Russia – a strong new sanctions package – because experience shows that without very strong pressure, Putin will not start serious peace talks,” Tusk emphasized.
He added that the American side, preliminarily, is also ready for this. According to him, the U.S. Senate and Senator Lindsey Graham, who are in contact with the “European four,” as well as the European Commission, “are ready to act – but this requires a united decision by the entire format.” In this context, he called Trump “the most cautious.”
Tusk stressed that he takes “a very restrained and very skeptical” view of Russia’s willingness to negotiate, and therefore “support for Ukraine, sanctions policy, and Western solidarity are essential."
