Russian President Vladimir Putin has edged closer to his goal of repairing Moscow's relations with Washington and driving a wedge between the United States and Europe, while offering only a slim contribution toward U.S. President Donald Trump's peace efforts in Ukraine.
Before Tuesday's long phone call between the two presidents, the U.S. side had said it would seek Russia's agreement to a 30-day ceasefire in the war — a proposal that Ukraine had accepted in principle — as a first step towards a full peace deal.
Instead, Putin agreed only to a much narrower ceasefire in which Russia and Ukraine would stop attacking each other's energy facilities for a month.
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