KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Germany’s chief diplomat on Tuesday described U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure a truce in the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine as deadlocked, while China’s foreign minister said that it was encouraging that the talks between Washington and Moscow on finding a settlement are continuing.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, arriving in Kyiv for an unannounced visit, said that “due to the deadlock” between the U.S. and Russia on forging a ceasefire deal, European allies’ continued support for Ukraine in the war is “absolutely crucial.”
Trump on Sunday scolded Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, expressing frustration at the continued fighting in a war that he had pledged to swiftly stop.
Trump insisted progress was being made in the negotiations, but said that he would consider imposing further sanctions to put pressure on Moscow and accused Zelenskyy of trying to back out of a deal with the U.S. on access to Ukraine’s mineral resources.
Ukraine has conducted a first round of consultations with the U.S. on what he said was the latest version of the mineral deal, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Tuesday.
Putin has effectively refused a U.S. proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting, despite Trump’s prodding. Also, a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea that could allow safer shipments has fallen foul of conditions imposed by Kremlin negotiators.
Russia is holding out on a Black Sea deal in order to “stall efforts toward a general ceasefire and extract additional concessions from the West,” according to an assessment late Monday by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.
Zelenskyy was blunt in his analysis of developments in an address late Sunday.
“Moscow blatantly makes a mockery of our partners’ efforts to advance a peace agenda,” he said.
Putin previously has ruled out a temporary break in hostilities, saying that it would only benefit Ukraine and its Western allies by letting them replenish their arsenals. He has insisted that Moscow wants a comprehensive agreement that would ensure a lasting settlement.
Trump has signaled that he could consider new oil sanctions on Russia. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated Tuesday that a breakthrough in negotiations isn’t imminent.
“The issues that we are discussing in connection with the Ukrainian settlement are quite complex and they require a lot of additional efforts,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
Meanwhile, deadly attacks by both Russia and Ukraine have continued, and they are gearing up for spring campaigns in their war of attrition along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.
Overnight, Russia fired no Shahed drones at Ukraine for the first time in more than five months, according to authorities.
But Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the counter-disinformation branch of Ukraine’s Security Council, detected no change in Russian strategy.
“For now, this means nothing,” he said on Telegram.
Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of launching new drone attacks on energy facilities in Russia’s Belgorod region and in the Russia-controlled part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukraine’s European backers say they will keep supporting Kyiv’s efforts to defeat Russia’s invasion. Putin is getting military help from North Korea and Iran.
China, too, has given diplomatic support to Russia and has provided economic help through trade in energy and consumer goods.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on a visit to Moscow, was quoted as saying Tuesday that “certain results have been achieved” in Washington’s attempt to stop the war as U.S.-Russia relations have improved under Trump.
He said in an interview with Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that Beijing supports the goal of “a fair, long-term, binding peace agreement acceptable to all parties involved.”
Wang was to meet Tuesday with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. He was also expected to meet later Tuesday with Putin, Peskov said.
