In the confrontation at the call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, the hosts on the Russian state media burst in anticipation.
A broadcaster on the Russia 1 channel described it as “the most important telephone conversation in the modern world”.
When the 2 and a half hour call wrapped, the Russian media quickly noted that it was the longest of all time between an American and Russian president. And that alone was sufficient for some to qualify a diplomatic victory.
“It’s now official: it’s the perfect telephone conversation,” wrote Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s special envoy on international economic cooperation, on X.
While the readings published by the White House and the Kremlin were rare and only revealed what each party wanted to present as the main dishes to take away – including an agreement to stop attacks against energy infrastructure in Ukraine – Trump called the “very good” conversation, and the Kremlin noted that the two leaders were understood and trusted themselves.
It was a frank sign of the warming relations between Washington and Moscow, and reaffirms the opportunity that Russia envisages with the Trump administration, which could extend beyond the battlefields of Ukraine.
After Russia launched its large -scale invasion of Ukraine, its already negative relationship with the West has endeavored spectacularly. It has become a pariah in certain geopolitical circles, and successive sanctions have mainly left it European and North American markets.
“Russia is in a terrible economic situation … But this is the price that Russia pays for Putin’s ambitions,” said Boris Bondarev, a former Russian diplomat, who resigned from his post to protest the invasion of Russia.
Bondarev thinks Putin has a plan to stop her war against Ukraine and probably expects to see what the Trump administration offers.
Warming relationships
During the appeal, the Kremlin said that the two leaders had discussed the need to improve bilateral relations, to seek economic cooperation and that they could even organize international hockey matches between the two parties.
It was an attempt to restart a historical rivalry thanks to sports diplomacy at a time when most Russian teams are currently prohibited from international competition.
Putin did not accept the American proposal for a complete and unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, but said that he was making a smaller decision to stop attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted a proposal supported by the United States that Russia and Ukraine cease to tackle the other energy infrastructure for 30 days, the Kremlin said, after a long appeal between Putin and US President Donald Trump.
However, Ukraine and Russia have launched air attacks overnight and accused of having struck energy sites.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched 150 drones overnight, some of which target the energy facilities. Zelenskyy said two Ukrainian hospitals had been affected in the attack.
During the call with Trump, Putin seemed to repeat her conditions for a complete ceasefire, in particular the blocking of all Western military aid to Ukraine as well as for a weightlifting.
But in an interview with Fox News, Trump said that military aid was not discussed.
Although the exact details of the conversation are not clear, it does not seem to be that Putin was forced to abandon one of her so-called conditions to end the war and that the two parties said that the negotiations would continue on Ukraine.
The White House and the Kremlin also said that the leaders had spoken of the crisis in the Middle East. Tatiana Stanovaya, a Russian political expert and founder of the R. Politik analysis firm, said that “an obvious victory for Putin”, as there is an American-Russia cooperation on key international issues.
“The process of separating Ukraine’s broader bilateral relations from American Russia grows,” she wrote on the Telegram social media platform.
“Putin managed to reject the proposal of a complete ceasefire while turning the situation to his advantage without making concessions.”
Economic potential
On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Putin and Trump were aware of the “enormous potential” for many joint commercial projects.
The special DMITRIEV envoy reflected in a sales forum on Wednesday on the promise that the improved relationship with Washington could bring.
On Wednesday, after addressing oligarchs and entrepreneurs, Dmitriev told journalists many American companies who left the Russian market in 2022 could seek to return, and the best way to do so would be to associate with Russian companies.
He said that the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, was interested in meeting Elon Musk, who heads SpaceX (as well as the Trump government efficiency department) to collaborate in research, including the possibility of flights to March.
Dmitryv, who also directs the sovereign wealth fund of Russia, said that the country wanted to develop its minerals and wishes for rare land To associate With American companies seeking to invest.
When Putin publicly discussed the American proposal publicly for a ceasefire in Ukraine last week, he explained how perhaps Washington and Moscow could cooperate on energy projectsThis could lead to another gas pipeline for Europe.
Putin could have referred to the North Stream 2 gas pipeline, which takes place between Russia and Germany, and was damaged in a explosion in the fall of 2022.
In recent days, there have been a number of reports, notably by the Financial time And the German newspaper BallWho suggests that there is a plan to restart the pipeline, potentially with the investment of American companies. However, Germany says it is not involved In all talks to relaunch Nord Stream 2.
The Kremlin agenda
Anna Matveeva, principal researcher visiting the King’s College in London, said after years of a negative climate between the United States and Russia, some in Russia see the steep turn of relations as a “radius of hope”.
But she says that others in the country are probably more cautious, since some were very optimistic during the first presidency of Trump, but found themselves disappointed when he approved Additional sanctions Against Russia after pressure from the American Congress in 2019.
She says that if the call with Trump gave Putin a chance to articulate her conditions again around Ukraine, she said that Ukraine was not the main objective of the Kremlin.
“They would like to have the subject of Ukraine away … because they want to move on to things that matter more for them,” she said in an interview with CBC News. “The Kremlin has a very large program …. including the standardization of bilateral relations.”
Settling in this, she said, is probably an effort to encourage common events, such as the hockey games that Putin has offered.
The Kremlin said Trump supported the idea and on Wednesday, the Russian Minister of Sport said that he was working on ways to bring together Russia NHL and KHL players.
“Economic measures, culture and sports – is a bit like the way of rebuilding relations gradually,” said Matveeva.
