US President Donald Trump's phone calls with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine have raised hopes for possible progress in ending the conflict, although frustration with the slow pace of talks and lack of significant breakthroughs has not gone away.
“It is clear that Russia is trying to buy time to continue the war and occupation,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram on Tuesday.
“We are working with our partners to put pressure on the Russians to change their behavior,” he added, in an apparent reference to possible international sanctions against Russia.
Ukraine has proposed a comprehensive 30-day ceasefire, which Moscow has effectively rejected with tough conditions, and Mr Zelensky has offered a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, an offer the Russian leader has rejected.
Mr Trump has said his personal intervention is needed to advance peace initiatives, and he held separate phone calls with Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin on Monday.
Mr Trump said Russia and Ukraine would begin cease-fire discussions “immediately”, although no details were provided about the time and place of such talks.
“The status quo has not changed,” Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Mr. Zelensky, wrote on the X social network on Tuesday.
In recent months, U.S. officials have urged Russia and Ukraine to settle as Mr. Trump sought a swift end to Europe's worst conflict since World War II.
Mr Trump said his talks with Mr Putin on Monday went “excellently”, but European officials expressed skepticism about Russia's intentions.
“Putin has never changed his position,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said in Brussels on Tuesday. “Russia is not really interested in ending this war.”
EU Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas said Russia's failure to negotiate in good faith should lead to the threat of sanctions from the US.
“We really haven't seen any pressure on Russia from these negotiations,” she told reporters.
She spoke after the EU agreed to impose new sanctions on Russia, including on nearly 200 shadow fleet vessels illegally transporting oil to circumvent Western restrictions imposed in response to Moscow's war in Ukraine.
The 27-nation bloc targeted 189 vessels and imposed asset freezes and travel bans on several officials as well as a number of Russian companies. The measures were approved by EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
