Yes, but no. That was essentially Vladimir Putin's three-word response to Donald Trump on Thursday, March 13, as the US president's emissaries arrived in Moscow to negotiate Washington's proposed ceasefire in Ukraine.
"We are also in favour of it, but there are nuances," the Russian president said of the plan, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had already accepted in principle. Putin wants to "talk [it] over" with the Americans and "perhaps have a telephone conversation with President Trump," as it raises "serious issues." Such a truce, he said, "should lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis."
The Russian president's rhetoric, in fact, hasn't changed. These "serious issues" and "root causes of this crisis" refer to his constant demands since the invasion of Kyiv three years ago: demilitarization and neutrality of Kyiv, regime change in Kyiv and therefore the departure of President Zelensky and definitive annexation of the occupied territories. It would be tantamount to a capitulation by Ukraine, unacceptable to its leaders and population after such a massive loss of life, and fraught with danger for Europe.
For Putin, "long-term peace" can only be achieved at this price, and there is little room for compromise. Zelensky got it right, denouncing the Russian president's "highly predictable and manipulative words" on Thursday evening.
What Putin's words hint at, on the other hand, is his strategy in this phase of the war: Avoid saying no right away so as not to provoke Trump, who has threatened Russia with a torrent of new sanctions if it doesn't get on board. Establish a dialogue with the US president, as this puts Russia back in the position of a great power and enables its president to deal as an equal with the American superpower, his dream since the fall of the Soviet Union. Another advantage of such a dialogue is that it rehabilitates Putin, who is still under an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.
But, above all, not saying no to the truce proposal while not saying yes buys Putin time. He has successfully used this tactic in the past: delaying the cessation of hostilities while his troops take advantage of the situation to increase their hold on the ground.
It's what he did in Georgia in 2008, imposing his timetable on then French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who was negotiating a ceasefire on behalf of the European Union. It's what he did in Minsk in 2015, prevaricating in front of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko while his forces advanced to break down the strategic impasse at Debaltseve, in the Donbas. Today, he wants to have discussions with Trump while his army and its North Korean auxiliaries retake the Kursk region, depriving Ukraine of the only territorial leverage it had in any negotiations.
"Patience and time are my weapons of war," said General Mikhail Kutuzov, Napoleon's vanquisher, the war chief who inspired Tolstoy's War and Peace. In this great Russian tradition, Putin is using the weapon of time against America's hasty and impatient president.