Will Putin derail Trump’s peace plan? – Today in Focus Extra
Donald Trump has shown he can get Ukraine to back a deal, but what about Russia? Patrick Wintour and Pjotr Sauer report
After weeks of diplomatic tension, on Tuesday the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, announced that Ukraine had signed up to a 30-day ceasefire agreement. As the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, explains to Michael Safi, this deal would cover the whole of Ukraine and by accepting it, Ukraine will again receive military aid and intelligence sharing from the US. However, issues such as borders, elections and Ukrainian membership of Nato or the EU are not a part of this deal and will need to be finalised at a later stage.
Having followed Russian negotiations during the Syrian civil war, Wintour describes the Russians as ‘masters at delay’, and on Thursday night Vladimir Putin made it clear that while he supported the US attempt to reach a deal he could not sign up to it as it stood.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
© Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters