The Duran Podcast - Putin diplomatically (with nuance) turns down 30-day ceasefire plan

Episode Date: March 14, 2025

Putin diplomatically (with nuance) turns down 30-day ceasefire plan

I'm hearing a cat in the back. Do you have a cat there? You are indeed. There is a most annoying cat that is howling in the background. That's cool. It's cool. I was just wondering, where am I hearing there from? I don't have a cat here. So there are two cats in this house, together with two dogs and three children. Just so. Okay. Okay. Well, I love cats. So all good. All good. So before we answer the questions, Alexander, I'm just going to read you what Putin said during the press conference with Lukashenko. Kind of breaking news.

And I'm reading this transcript, this translation from RT. So this is what they say Putin said when he was asked about the 30-day ceasefire plan from Trump that was agreed on in Jeddah Saudi Arabia. I'm just going to read you what Putin said according to RT. And then I would like you to comment on this because there's going to be a lot of discussion about what he said. Let's see. Russia supports the idea of ending the hostilities in the Ukraine conflict but needs any potential ceasefire to facilitate a long-term peace. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, speaking during a bilateral meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Putin noted, quote, we agree with the proposals.

cease hostilities, but this secession must be such that it would lead to long-term peace and eliminate the initial causes of this crisis. Moscow has a number of questions about the U.S. ceasefire proposal that will need to be raised in upcoming talks, Putin explained. I think that we need to discuss this with our American colleagues and partners, he said. maybe we could discuss this with President Trump over the telephone. The Russian leader added, notwithstanding, Russia supports the idea of diplomatically ending the conflict, he said. That's the latest from this press conference. Maybe he's going to say some more.

Maybe he'll get some more questions. I imagine, Alexandria, this was a planted question towards Putin so he could give his answer. So anyway, your initial thoughts on what I just read to you. Once again, that is from, that translation is from. RT so yeah I mean he's in effect he's in effect in a very polite way rejecting this proposal because it was a 30-day unconditional proposal up it was a proposal for a ceasefire without any conditions and the russians have already said no but up to that previously before this proposal was put to them and now it's been put to them

and you know he's saying look we're not against ending the war of course we're want to end the wall but we can't do it we can't have a ceasefire like this we've got lots of questions but at the same time we don't want you to take our no as as a sign that we're shutting the door on you we are still prepared to take this forward we're prepared to meet with you to discuss this to talk with you to see where we can go but we're not going to accept this proposal it doesn't make any sense to us. That's how I read it as well. There are already a lot of outlets which are saying Putin accepts the ceasefire and stuff like that. But that's not how you read it at all. No. No, I'm agree. Yeah. Yeah, that's not how it should be read. Okay. So, breaking news. Interesting comment

from Putin. Very well played. Would you agree that he played this well? A diplomat. A true Oh, absolutely. He is a deal. The point is he doesn't want there to be a breakdown in the discussions with the Americans. The Americans have moved a very, very long way towards the Russian position. I think you will underestimate this. The Americans have got the Ukrainians to move a long way too. I mean, that statement that came out of the Jeddah talks, no security guarantees mentioned, no European peacekeeping forces mentioned, no fly zones. because that's what the British proposal was, the British French proposal was.

None of that mentioned. And as for the Europeans, well, the Ukrainians want them to participate, but the Americans made no commitment that they should. So this is, as I said, something that the Russians are noting, but we have a long, long way to go. And I think that, you know, there'll be discussions. You probably speak to Trump over the course of the next couple of days.

Usherkhov, who is his foreign policy aid, will meet with waltz. But as I said, when, as we say in, as lawyers like to say, when you say, well, we're going to add, we're going to set conditions before you, before we accept something, that is actually a rejection. Before we get to the questions, I just want to ask you one more comment if you can. How do you think Trump is going to? to the Trump White House is going to receive this response from Putin? How do you think the Europeans are going to look at it?

The EU NATO. The Americans are going to take it. Trump is going to take this positively. That is my own personal view. He wants to end this war. He understands he needs Putin's help to end this war, because Putin is, after all, one of the participants in the war. So he will take this positively.

And we will see probably a further meeting between the Russians, and the Americans over the next couple of days, and I'm guessing that there will be a summit meeting before long. And Trump, my own senses, will not be angry, he will not be offended. He won't rush off and impose more sanctions or do anything stupid like that. He will move forward and try to come to some kind of an understanding with Putin as to the way forward. And I think, by the way, a key part of this is that both the Americans and the Russians are already agreed about one thing

and I suspect they have talked about it already with each other and that is that Vladimir Zelensky must go and the other parties Zelenskyy, the Europeans, UK, NATO how are they going to look at this response? How they're going to look at this? I'm not sure that they have the sophistication

to understand it. That's one thing to say But putting that aside, my own guess is that they will try to, they will not be pleased. Let's put it that way. Their major concern is not about whether Ukraine survives or falls or whether, you know, their major concern is that the Americans and the Russians seem to be coming together. I've said this many times in many programs. And this response by the Russians, instead of slamming the door in a way that would make the Americans and the Russians go further apart, is going to feed their worry that the Americans and the Russians are indeed coming together. All right. Fantastic. Let's get to some questions.