Following a phone conversation between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about a possible ceasefire in the Ukraine war, Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė says she has reservations about it leading to lasting peace.
“It seems to me that at this stage every such conversation raises a lot of expectations and a lot of emotions, but [...] I am in fact reserved about the progress,” the minister told reporters in Vilnius, adding that she sees no reason to believe in Russia’s statements that it is seeking peace.
“Until now, any Russian comments about what is happening in Ukraine have been 180 degrees out of touch with reality. Secondly, Russia has not respected any international agreements so far,” Šakalienė argued.
“It is actually very simple for Russia to stop the war, it should just stop bombing,” she added.
During his phone conversation with US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to halt attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities, but refused a complete ceasefire unless the West halts all military aid to Kyiv.
Šakalienė says she does not want to comment on any interim agreements before they are final.
“For the time being, the issue of peace with Russia seems to me to be, well, so complicated that I don’t really see the point of discussing everything else. [...] Do I believe that Russia wants peace? No. Do I believe that Russia will respect the agreements? So far we have no reason to believe so,” Šakalienė said.
Washington is pressing for an immediate 30-day ceasefire and wants this to be the first step in ending Russia’s war against Ukraine.
There was no breakthrough on the ceasefire Ukraine agreed to last week during Trump and Putin’s conversation, but they agreed on a 30-day halt in attacks on energy infrastructure. It was not clear if it was meant to come into effect immediately.
A few hours after the talks, however, sirens and explosions were heard in Ukraine as the Russians launched a new wave of air strikes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Russians had hit civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, and accused the Kremlin of in principle rejecting the US-backed ceasefire.
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