Putin quietly signals that he's open to a ceasefire – NYT

<p>In a recent push of back-channel diplomacy, Russian President Vlad Putin has been sending a message: He is ready to make a deal for a Ukraine ceasefire. The New York Times made the report yesterday, saying that he's been signaling through intermediaries since at least Sept that he is open to a cease-fire that freeze the fighting along the current lines.</p><p>They cite "two former senior Russian officials close to the Kremlin and American and international officials" who have received the message.</p><p>The report also says that some American officials say it could be a Kremlin attempt at
misdirection and a Kremlin official said the reporting is incorrect. One timeline to be aware of is the March Russian election, as Putin may want a deal beforehand.</p><p>Whenever I see a report like this, I wonder who leaked it and why. The days of real 'journalism' of long over and anything like this is planted by someone, for some reason. After reading <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/23/world/europe/putin-russia-ukraine-war-cease-fire.html?smid=nytcore-android-share" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">this report</a>, I wonder if a message is being sent to Kyiv.</p>

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.