Russia wants a deal in Ukraine almost as much as Kiev, because Vladimir Putin doesn’t want to annexe eastern Ukraine. He wants Kiev to pick up the tab, to pay for as much of the mess as possible.
Mr Putin wants to keep the rebel areas as a lever inside Ukraine that he can use to veto Ukraine joining Nato, and to keep a pro-Russian voice in Ukrainian politics. If eastern Ukraine joined Russia, you would be left with a rump Ukrainian state that was rabidly anti-Moscow, turning towards Europe and Nato.
So a deal suits Mr Putin – it is worth remembering that the whole Minsk process was instigated originally by him - and now is a good time for him to do it.