Nick Schifrin:
Yes, remember the context for this call.
The U.S. pressured and got Ukraine to agree to a 30-day full cease-fire across the front line. So President Trump entered this call wanting Putin to agree to a full cease-fire, and Trump did not get that. And further, Putin, as you just said, went further.
Putin said, for this limited cease-fire to be expanded, Ukraine would have to stop arming or mobilizing its soldiers and the — quote — “complete cessation of foreign military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine.”
Not only would that leave Ukraine extremely vulnerable. It also goes against what President Trump has said, which is that Europe will provide Ukraine security guarantees. Putin also said that the U.S. must address — quote — “the root causes of the crisis.”
That translates to blocking further NATO expansion, including to Ukraine, and removing U.S. troops from Eastern Europe, says Angela Stent of the Brookings Institution.