Is Putin keen on peace?
Newshour
BBC
4.4 • 984 Ratings
🗓️ 14 March 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Kremlin has said Russian President Vladimir Putin has passed on what it called information for Donald Trump at a late-night meeting in Moscow with US special envoy Steve Witkoff. In a conference call with reporters, the Kremlin’s spokesperson added that a phone call between US President Trump and Putin was expected. A Russia analyst take us through the likelihood that the country’s leader truly wants a ceasefire in its war against Ukraine.
Also in the programme: Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte attends his first hearing at The Hague, accused of crimes against humanity; and following news of a tourist pulling a baby wombat away from its mother in Australia, a wildlife expert weighs in on the backlash.
(Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via video link at the Kremlin in Moscow, 7th March, 2025. Credit: Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to Newsout from the BBC World Service. We're coming to you live from London. |
| 0:08.2 | I'm James Menendez. And we're going to begin with those American efforts to try to broker a short initial truce in Ukraine. |
| 0:14.7 | If the ball was in Russia's court during yesterday's program, it's probably now back with the United States, |
| 0:21.4 | because President Trump's special envoy, Steve Wickoff, has now left Moscow after late-night |
| 0:25.7 | talks with Vladimir Putin and armed only with what the Kremlin is describing as |
| 0:30.0 | information and additional signals for Mr. Trump and the prospect of a top-level phone call. |
| 0:36.1 | Well, here's the Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Paskoff |
| 0:38.4 | on his morning call with journalists. Mr. Wickoff was received by President Putin late last night. |
| 0:47.4 | Additional information was provided to the Russian side. And also, through Mr. Wiccoff, Putin provided information for President Trump. The exact time of the |
| 0:58.0 | conversation between the two presidents has not yet been agreed, but at the same time, after Mr. |
| 1:04.3 | Witkoff has already brought all the information to his head of state, we will then determine the |
| 1:09.4 | timing of the conversation. |
| 1:13.4 | Last night in his daily video address, President Zelensky said the Russian leader was |
| 1:17.4 | manipulating the situation as usual and claimed that President Putin didn't want a ceasefire. |
| 1:24.2 | Now, what we've all heard from Russia is Putin's very predictable, very manipulative words |
| 1:30.7 | in response to the idea of a ceasefire. In practice, he's preparing a rejection. Putin, of course, |
| 1:39.4 | is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war, that he wants to kill Ukrainians, |
| 1:46.3 | and that is why there, in Moscow, they're surrounding the idea of a ceasefire with such preconditions |
| 1:52.9 | that nothing will work out at all or that it won't work out for as long as possible. |
| 1:59.3 | And overnight, the fighting continued as usual with both sides |
| 2:03.1 | using drones to attack the other. President Trump welcomed what he called a promising |
| 2:07.7 | statement from President Putin, although he said it wasn't complete. He also spoke last night |
... |
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