Article Summary
US President Donald Trump plans to speak with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine following talks in Turkey where Russian negotiators voiced new demands for a ceasefire. Trump aims to discuss ending the war and trade during his call with Putin, and later speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and various members of NATO. The talks in Turkey were the first face-to-face meeting since March 2022, with the next steps being prisoner exchanges and further work between the two sides. Ukraine and its allies are rallying support to take tougher action against Moscow, as Russia is not seen as serious in its negotiations.
What This Means for You
- Be prepared for potential changes in the Russia-Ukraine conflict following Trump’s calls with Putin and Zelenskiy.
- Stay informed about possible economic consequences due to the ongoing conflict and potential sanctions against Russia.
- Consider the impact of this situation on international relations and diplomacy, particularly in relation to NATO and the US.
- Stay vigilant for updates, as the situation remains fluid with both Russia and Ukraine rallying support from their allies.
Original Post
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies preparations were under way for a conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump.
The talks in Turkey on Friday were the first time the sides had held face-to-face talks since March 2022, weeks after Russia’s full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour.
A senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks said Russian negotiators demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire.
Trump, writing on Truth Social on Saturday, said he would speak with Putin on Monday morning (local time) to discuss stopping the war.
“THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE ‘BLOODBATH’ THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE,” he wrote.
He said he would speak afterward with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and various members of NATO.
“Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end.”
Trump had offered to travel to Turkey for the talks while in the Gulf last week if Putin would also attend, but Putin sent a team of negotiators instead.
The president has been pressuring Putin and Zelenskiy to agree to a ceasefire in the more than three-year-old war.
The Kremlin declined to comment on the terms that Russia had put forward at Friday’s meeting. The talks lasted only one hour and 40 minutes and yielded an agreement to trade 1000 prisoners of war on each side. The two countries have not specified when that would happen.
Zelenskiy called on Saturday for stronger sanctions on Moscow after a Russian drone killed nine bus passengers in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine. “This was a deliberate killing of civilians,” he said.
“Pressure must be exerted on Russia to stop the killings. Without tougher sanctions, without stronger pressure, Russia will not seek real diplomacy.”
Russia, which denies targeting civilians, said it struck a military target in Sumy. Its defence ministry said Russian troops had captured another settlement in eastern Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by telephone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and said he welcomed the “positive role” of the United States in helping to secure a resumption of talks between Russia and Ukraine. A Russian foreign ministry statement quoted Lavrov as saying contacts would continue.
Rubio was quoted as telling the CBS news programme Face the Nation that Lavrov said the Russians were “working on a series of ideas and requirements that they would have in order to move forward with a ceasefire and further negotiations.”
“I think your question is, ‘Are they tapping us along?'” he said in the interview to be broadcast on Sunday. “Well, that’s what we’re trying to find out.”
Rubio, who told reporters earlier in Rome that the Vatican could be a venue to facilitate further Russia-Ukraine dialogue, told CBS it was a “very generous offer that may be taken up on.”
PRESSING FOR IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE
Ukraine and Western governments, including the US, have demanded Russia agree to an immediate, unconditional ceasefire lasting at least 30 days.
But the Ukrainian source said Moscow’s negotiators had demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, with a ceasefire to take place only after that.
The source said that and other demands went beyond the terms of a draft peace deal that the United States proposed last month after consultations with Moscow.
Peskov declined to comment on the Ukrainian account, saying talks should be conducted “absolutely behind closed doors”.
He said the next steps would be to carry out the prisoner exchange and conduct further work between the two sides. Peskov said it was possible that Putin could meet Zelenskiy, but only if “certain agreements” were reached, which he did not specify.
Zelenskiy had challenged Putin earlier in the week to meet him in person, an offer the Russian leader ignored.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his country, after hosting the talks, was resolved to continue its mediation role.
UKRAINE RALLIES SUPPORT
After Friday’s meeting, Ukraine began rallying support from its allies to take tougher action against Moscow.
“Once again Russia is not serious,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Reuters during a visit to Pakistan. “At what point do we say to Putin enough is enough?”
French President Emmanuel Macron also said the talks in Istanbul had been fruitless.
“Today, what do we have? Nothing. And so I tell you, faced with President Putin’s cynicism, I am sure that President Trump, mindful of the credibility of the United States, will react.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union was working on a new package of sanctions against Moscow, which France said this week should aim to “suffocate” the Russian economy.
But after intensifying sanctions for more than three years already, it is unclear how much more they can achieve.
In their efforts to forge a united front and make Putin accept a ceasefire, Ukraine and its European leaders have been repeatedly thrown off balance by interventions from Trump.
Having told Zelenskiy to accept Russia’s offer of direct talks in Turkey, Trump said on the eve of the meeting that there could be no movement on peace until he had met with Putin.
The Kremlin says Putin is ready to meet Trump, but such a summit must be carefully prepared. It said there had been no contact between Russia and the US since Friday’s talks.
Key Terms
- Donald Trump
- Vladimir Putin
- Volodymyr Zelenskiy
- Russia-Ukraine conflict
- Ceasefire negotiations
ORIGINAL SOURCE:
Source link