Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday accused Russia of delaying peace talks in a bid to press on with its three-year invasion, even as US President Donald Trump pushes for an immediate ceasefire.
Trump spoke by phone on Monday with Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Istanbul on Friday for their first direct talks on the conflict in more than three years.
However, they failed to yield a truce, and Zelenskiy accused Putin of sending “empty heads” to the negotiating table.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Presidential Press Service
“It is obvious that Russia is trying to buy time in order to continue its war and occupation,” Zelenskiy said in a post on social media.
Trump framed his two-hour conversation with Putin, the third so far this year, as a breakthrough. The Republican is seeking an elusive deal to end the war that he had promised on the campaign trail to solve in 24 hours.
However, Putin again rebuffed the call for a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire, instead saying only that he was ready to work with Ukraine on a “memorandum” outlining a possible roadmap and different positions on ending the war.
Photo: AFP
Moscow is feeling confident with its troops advancing on the battlefield and Trump having resumed dialogue with Putin after almost three years of the West shunning the Kremlin head.
“The memorandum buys time for Russia,” Russian political analyst Konstantin Kalachev said, adding that “the cessation of hostilities is not a condition for it, which means that Russia can continue its offensive.”
German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius said the call between the two leaders showed Putin was not “genuinely interested in peace.”
Ukraine and Europe are trying to put pressure on Trump to hit Moscow with a new package of massive sanctions after Putin refused to travel to Turkey for face-to-face talks with Zelenskiy.
“Ukraine is ready for any negotiation format that delivers results, and if Russia continues to put forward unrealistic conditions and undermine progress, there must be tough consequences,” the Ukrainian leader said.
“America said that if Russia doesn’t agree on an unconditional ceasefire, then there are going to be consequences. So we want to see those consequences, also from the US side,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas told ministers in Brussels.
Zelenskiy on Monday said that Kyiv and its allies needed to “work hard” to convince Trump of the need for more sanctions.
“Banking and energy sanctions from America will greatly determine whether Putin and the Russian army will continue to profit from this war or not,” he said.
The EU yesterday formally adopted its 17th round of sanctions on Moscow, targeting 200 vessels of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, and drawing ire from Russia.
“Western politicians and the media are making titanic efforts to disrupt the constructive dialogue between Russia and the United States,” said Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund and lead economic negotiator with the US.
Putin has reveled in Russia’s ability to withstand sanctions, with Moscow having rerouted its vital oil and gas supplies to India and China.
China, Russia’s key ally, yesterday said it backed direct dialogue between the warring sides.
“It is hoped that the parties concerned will carry on with the dialogue ... to reach a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement acceptable to all parties,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning (毛寧) said.
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