Putin Needs to be Pressured Into Talks, Tusk Says

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday that Russia needs to be pressured into serious negotiations, questioning Moscow’s sincerity for peace talks.

On Monday, Russian leader Vladimir Putin proposed plans to work on a memorandum with Kyiv on a possible ceasefire during his phone call with US President Donald Trump, again rejecting calls for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire that has been floating around since at least March.

Tusk, speaking at a press conference in northern Poland on Thursday, said he “does not confirm” reports that Trump told European leaders Putin is not stopping because he thinks he is winning.

But Tusk doubted whether Moscow is sincere in pursuing peace talks, as demonstrated by the lack of progress in stopping the war despite the talks.

“But I confirm that the situation is complicated precisely because there is not even a hint of goodwill on the Russian side when it comes, firstly, to a ceasefire as soon as possible, and secondly, to the start of honest peace negotiations,” Tusk said, according to Ukrainian state media Ukrinform.

Tusk also accused Moscow of employing delaying tactics to avoid serious peace talks.

“Instead, the Russians used their rather classic tactics: delaying and confusing various topics in order not to make commitments to a ceasefire and a serious transition to peace negotiations,” Tusk added.

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Tusk is among the Western leaders who issued a ceasefire ultimatum to Moscow in May, which Putin countered with a proposal to conduct direct talks with Kyiv in Istanbul that failed to yield a ceasefire, largely because Putin sent a lower-echelon team with no authority to negotiate any new concessions for peace.

In a remark echoing recent statements by President Volodmyr Zelensky, Tusk also said Moscow needs to be pressured into “serious peace negotiations” via sanctions.

“Russia is not a partner that can be trusted in the context of fulfilling its obligations, that there will be constant manipulation on its part, and that is why pressure is so important,” Tusk said.

“In this format, we, together with the European Commission, are focusing on preparing a possible package of sanctions against Russia – this new strong package of sanctions, because experience shows that without such very strong pressure, Putin will not start serious peace negotiations.”

Following the Trump-Putin call on Monday, the EU and the UK have imposed additional sanctions on Moscow by targeting Russia’s shadow fleet and banking institutions and threatened “massive” sanctions to soon follow – albeit without US backing, as Trump said he will “see how Russia behaves.”

However, observers have questioned the effectiveness of the upcoming “massive” sanctions due to infighting within the bloc.