Germany sees Ukraine truce efforts as deadlocked while China says the
talks are encouraging
[April 01, 2025]
By The Associated Press
Germany’s chief diplomat on Tuesday described U.S. President Donald
Trump’s efforts to secure a truce in the three-year war between Russia
and Ukraine as deadlocked, while China’s foreign minister said it was
encouraging that the talks between Washington and Moscow on finding a
settlement are continuing.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, arriving in Kyiv for an
unannounced visit, said that “due to the deadlock” between the U.S. and
Russia on forging a ceasefire deal, European allies’ continued support
for Ukraine in the war is “absolutely crucial.”
Trump on Sunday scolded Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, expressing frustration at the continued
fighting in a war that he had pledged to swiftly stop.
Trump insisted progress was being made in the negotiations, but said
that he would consider imposing further sanctions on Moscow and accused
Zelenskyy of trying to back out of a deal with the U.S. on access to
Ukraine’s mineral resources.
Putin has effectively refused a U.S. proposal for an immediate and full
30-day halt in the fighting, despite Trump’s prodding. Also, a partial
ceasefire in the Black Sea that could allow safer shipments has fallen
foul of conditions imposed by Kremlin negotiators.
Russia is holding out on a Black Sea deal in order to “stall efforts
toward a general ceasefire and extract additional concessions from the
West,” according to an assessment late Monday by the Institute for the
Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.
Putin previously has ruled out a temporary break in hostilities, saying
that it would only benefit Ukraine and its Western allies by letting
them replenish their arsenals. He has insisted that Moscow wants a
comprehensive agreement that would ensure a lasting settlement.
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A Ukrainian military boat CB90 of Military Naval Forces patrols
Black Sea coast line of Odesa region, Ukraine, on March 27, 2025.
(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Meanwhile, deadly attacks by both Russia and Ukraine have continued,
and they are gearing up for spring campaigns in their war of
attrition along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.
Overnight, Russia fired no Shahed drones at Ukraine for the first
time in more than five months, according to authorities.
But Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the counter-disinformation branch
of Ukraine’s Security Council, detected no change in Russian
strategy.
“For now, this means nothing,” he said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s European backers say they will keep supporting Kyiv’s
efforts to defeat Russia’s invasion. Putin is getting military help
from North Korea and Iran.
China, too, has given diplomatic support to Russia and has provided
economic help through trade in energy and consumer goods.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on a visit to Moscow, was quoted
as saying Tuesday that “certain results have been achieved” in
Washington’s attempt to stop the war as U.S.-Russia relations have
improved under Trump.
He said in an interview with Russian state news agency RIA Novosti
that Beijing supports the goal of “a fair, long-term, binding peace
agreement acceptable to all parties involved.”
Wang was to meet Tuesday with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
He was also expected to meet with Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov said without saying when it might happen.
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