Russian President Vladimir Putin has edged closer to his goal of repairing Moscow¡¯s relations with Washington and driving a wedge between the United States and Europe, while offering only a slim contribution toward U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s peace efforts in Ukraine.

Before Tuesday¡¯s long phone call between the two presidents, the U.S. side had said it would seek Russia¡¯s agreement to a 30-day ceasefire in the war ¡ª a proposal that Ukraine had accepted in principle ¡ª as a first step towards a full peace deal.

Instead, Putin agreed only to a much narrower ceasefire in which Russia and Ukraine would stop attacking each other¡¯s energy facilities for a month.