First he annexed Crimea. Then he backed rebels in eastern Ukraine. Now Russian President Vladimir Putin is being praised as a peacemaker for endorsing a cease-fire in Ukraine's grinding conflict — all while neatly short-circuiting Western discussions of new economic and military costs for his role in fueling the war.
The leaders of Ukraine, Germany and France expressed doubts Thursday about the durability of the peace deal they reached with Putin after marathon negotiations in the Belarusan capital. So it was left to the Russian leader to claim victory in the efforts to end a nearly year-old war in which he has always denied taking part.
Ukraine committed to politically tricky efforts to grant freedoms to eastern territories held by pro-Russian rebels. European Union leaders agreed to sit down with the Kremlin to discuss Russian concerns about Kiev's efforts to align itself with the West. Putin offered little — but he eliminated, at least for now — the possibility of stronger EU sanctions and the United States arming Kiev's military.
No wonder he was smiling when the leaders emerged after their 15-hour talks.
“This was not the best night of my life, but the morning in my opinion was good,” Putin said in Minsk.
The cease-fire deal includes the front-line withdrawal of heavy weapons, but powerful disagreements remain over the conflict. The pact is scheduled to take effect Sunday.
Russia has been accused by the West of sending troops and arms to bolster the pro-Moscow separatists in Ukraine. Although Putin has denied the allegations, any credible plan to quell the 10-month-old conflict would require the Kremlin's backing.
Still, leaders at the talks in Minsk acknowledged the towering work ahead of them, suggesting that any deal would be fragile. A cease-fire accord reached last year fell apart amid escalating fighting.
“We have agreed on many things,” Putin told reporters after the talks. “We should avoid unnecessary bloodshed while withdrawing heavy weaponry.”
Despite the caution, the deal is likely to offer some breathing room in a conflict that has brought relations between Russia and the West to lows not seen since the Cold War.
Secretary of State John F. Kerry said the United States “will judge the commitment of Russia and the separatists by their actions, not their words.” He said the Obama administration “is prepared to consider rolling back sanctions on Russia” when the Minsk cease-fire accords “are fully implemented,” including the withdrawal of all foreign troops and equipment from Ukraine, full restoration of government control of borders and the release of all hostages.
The accord offers some concessions to the pro-Russia rebels battling the Western-allied Kiev: a promise that Ukraine would implement constitutional reforms to give rebel-held territories more autonomy.
It calls for the withdrawal of heavy weaponry at least 30 miles from the front lines — key steps that should calm violence that has spiked in recent weeks and shocked Europe as it endured the bloodiest conflict on its soil since the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
At least 5,400 have been killed, according to U.N. estimates, and more than a million people displaced from their homes.
