US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are anticipated to talk this week, officers mentioned on Sunday, as Washington and Kyiv’s European allies press Moscow to simply accept a ceasefire within the three-year struggle.
America this week proposed a halt in combating within the struggle after talks in Saudi Arabia, with Kyiv accepting the proposal.
Putin nonetheless has given no clear reply, as a substitute itemizing a string of situations and elevating “severe questions” over the proposition.
Trump’s envoy for the battle, Steve Witkoff, who met for a number of hours with Putin days in the past, instructed CNN in a televised interview that he thinks “the 2 presidents are going to have a very good and constructive dialogue this week.”
Earlier the Moscow mentioned that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio known as his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and that the pair had mentioned “concrete points of the implementation of understandings” at a US-Russia summit in Saudi Arabia final month.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday accused the Kremlin of not wanting to finish the struggle and warned that Moscow needed to first “enhance their state of affairs on the battlefield” earlier than agreeing to any ceasefire.
The February Riyadh gathering was the primary high-level assembly between the USA and Russia since Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022.
“Sergei Lavrov and Marco Rubio agreed to stay in touch,” the Russian international ministry mentioned, with no point out of the US-suggested ceasefire.
State Division spokeswoman Tammy Bruce mentioned Saturday that the pair had “mentioned the following steps” on Ukraine.
She additionally mentioned Rubio and Lavrov “agreed to proceed working in the direction of restoring communication between the USA and Russia”.
The Lavrov-Rubio name got here hours after the UK hosted a digital summit on Ukraine, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer accusing Putin of “dragging his ft” on the ceasefire.
“The ‘sure, however’ from Russia is just not adequate,” Starmer mentioned, calling for a cease to the “barbaric assaults on Ukraine as soon as and for all”.
Kyiv the following day mentioned Russia launched 90 Iranian-made Shahed drones onto 9 Ukrainian areas.
Zelensky says Putin ‘mendacity’
In his response to the ceasefire earlier this week, Putin mentioned the initiative would profit primarily Ukraine and never Russian forces, who he mentioned are “advancing” in lots of areas.
He raised “severe questions” over the initiative.
The proposal got here as Russia — which occupies swathes of southern and japanese Ukraine — has had momentum in some areas of the entrance.
It has ousted Ukrainian forces from elements of its Kursk area, the place Kyiv hopes to carry onto Russian territory as a possible bargaining chip in any future negotiations.
Putin mentioned he needed to debate Moscow’s issues with Trump in a telephone name.
Zelensky mentioned Saturday that by not agreeing to the ceasefire, Putin was additionally going in opposition to Trump — who has made overtures in the direction of Russia — and accused Moscow of looking for methods to not finish the struggle.
He accused Putin of “mendacity about how a ceasefire is supposedly too sophisticated”.
Ukraine mentioned Sunday that one individual was killed by a Russian drone strike on the town of Izyum — within the Kharkiv area, which fell to Russia initially of its Ukraine invasion earlier than being retaken by Kyiv’s forces.
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