Russia may be "dragging their feet" on ending its war against Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump told Newsmax on March 25.
Asked by a reporter whether he believes Russia "wants to see an end" to the full-scale war, Trump said, "I don't know. I mean, I'll let you know at a certain point. But I think that Russia wants to see an end to it, but it could be they're dragging their feet."
The comments come after the U.S. helped broker a partial ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on naval operations and strikes against energy facilities.
While President Volodymyr Zelensky said the ceasefire would take effect on March 25, the Kremlin claimed that the Black Sea truce would come into force only after Western sanctions on Russian food producers and exporters are lifted.
"I've done it over the years, you know; 'I don't want to sign a contract, I want to sort of stay in the game, but maybe I don't want to do it,'" the U.S. president said, adding that Zelensky would also "like to see it (the war) end at this point."
Trump previously said that the U.S. is "looking at" the possibility of lifting some sanctions on Russia to secure the Black Sea ceasefire.
The agreements follow a round of technical talks the U.S. delegates held separately with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Riyadh to hash out details of the truce.
According to the Moscow Times' sources, Russia is deliberately prolonging the peace talks to seize more territory and strengthen its negotiating position with the U.S. as it believes that time is on its side.
A U.S. intelligence assessment concurred that Moscow, as well as Kyiv, may see a greater incentive to prolong the war instead of settling for an unfavorable peace deal, Bloomberg reported.
Dominic Culverwell
(Updated: )
