PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 13th, 2025: Putin Pours Cold Water On Ceasefire Hopes & Houthis Threaten To Resume Attacks On Israeli Vessels
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What is the current situation regarding the ceasefire in Ukraine?
It's Thursday, the 13th of March. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. Leading off, U.S. officials have arrived in Moscow to try and sell the Kremlin on a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine. But Russian President Putin, well, he's already pushing back on the proposal, saying that it does not go far enough.
Why is Putin resistant to a quick ceasefire agreement?
I know, it's shocking that Putin wouldn't just quickly agree to a ceasefire when he believes he has the upper hand and Kyiv isn't holding any cards. Later in the show, as the Iranian-backed Houthi militants of Yemen once again threaten to resume attacks on Israeli ships,
What measures are the Houthis taking regarding Israeli vessels?
The group is taking heightened measures to safeguard their leader from suffering the same fate as the leadership of Hezbollah and Hamas. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. U.S. officials are in Moscow today to make a direct appeal to Russian leaders to agree to a temporary ceasefire with Ukraine, but the talks may be doomed before they even get underway.
What are the Kremlin's responses to U.S. ceasefire proposals?
As we noted on this morning's PDB, Kremlin officials appeared less than enthused about the recent U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine endorsed by leaders in Kyiv, though they had yet to issue a formal response, saying they wanted to hear more details from the Trump administration.
What did Putin say about lasting peace and root causes of the war?
Well, on Thursday, Russian President Putin gave a press conference where he said Moscow would not agree to an immediate end to the fighting in Ukraine, instead advocating for a deal that leads to a, quote, lasting peace and the elimination of the root causes of the war, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. But wait, I thought Russia was the root cause of the war. Putin said that while Russia agrees with the proposal for a ceasefire in principle, well, there are nuances and also serious issues that still need to be resolved before the process can move forward. Everything from nuances to serious issues, that pretty much covers the whole spectrum. He listed a number of these issues, including resolving the Ukrainian incursion in Russia's Kursk region and a clear plan for the West on how they plan to enforce the ceasefire and monitor potential violations. Putin said, quote, the idea itself is good and we, of course, support it, but there are questions we have to discuss, end quote.
He suggested there would need to be additional negotiations to resolve these outstanding issues with the U.S. and U.S. allies and hinted at holding a phone call with President Trump.
What are the implications of Trump's remarks on the ceasefire?
Putin's response came as Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, arrived in Moscow to meet with the Russian leader and other Kremlin officials to try to move the needle on the ceasefire, though by all accounts, he does have his work cut out for him. Meanwhile, President Trump quickly responded to Putin's press conference, telling reporters at the White House that Putin's remarks were, quote, promising, but, quote, incomplete. and that he was willing to speak with the Russian strongman to secure a ceasefire deal. Trump added, quote, Hopefully Russia will do the right thing. Now, Putin's remarks echoed those made earlier in the day by his chief foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, who essentially dismissed the U.S. brokered proposal, saying it would give nothing to Russia while allowing Ukraine to regroup at a time when Kyiv's military is on the back foot. It's according to a report from Reuters.
He told Russian state television, quote, This is nothing other than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military, nothing more. It only gives the Ukrainians an opportunity to gain strength and to continue the same thing, end quote. Ushkov added, quote, our goal is a long-term peaceful settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of our country and our well-known concerns, end quote. Yes, they're all about peace. As we've been tracking on the show, Moscow's forces have been engaged in a renewed counteroffensive in recent days aimed at recapturing the Russian Kursk region from Ukraine.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the current situation regarding the ceasefire in Ukraine?
0:12–0:37
2
Why is Putin resistant to a quick ceasefire agreement?
0:37–0:53
3
What measures are the Houthis taking regarding Israeli vessels?
0:53–1:16
4
What are the Kremlin's responses to U.S. ceasefire proposals?
1:16–1:35
5
What did Putin say about lasting peace and root causes of the war?
1:35–2:46
6
What are the implications of Trump's remarks on the ceasefire?
2:46–4:37
7
How has the military situation in the Kursk region changed?
4:37–10:11
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The President's Daily Brief
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