US President Donald Trump has praised talks held with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the US-proposed ceasefire deal in Ukraine as “good and productive”.
This comes after Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff met in Moscow on Thursday night, throughout which they exchanged info and shared the US’s “cautious optimism” over a peace course of, the Kremlin confirmed.
Trump’s Reality Social submit on Friday stated the talks supplied “an excellent likelihood that this horrible, bloody conflict can lastly come to an finish”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, nonetheless, maintained that Putin’s response to this point reveals Russia needs to proceed the conflict and doesn’t need a ceasefire.
“Putin can’t exit this conflict as a result of that would go away him with nothing,” Zelensky wrote in a sequence of posts on X.
“That’s the reason he’s now doing the whole lot he can to sabotage diplomacy by setting extraordinarily tough and unacceptable situations proper from the beginning even earlier than a ceasefire.”
He stated Putin would “drag” everybody into “limitless discussions… losing days, weeks, and months on meaningless talks whereas his weapons proceed to kill folks”.
“Each situation Putin places ahead is simply an try to dam any diplomacy. That is how Russia works. And we warned about this.”
In his day by day deal with the evening earlier than, Zelensky stated Putin was making ready to “reject” a ceasefire, explaining Putin “does not say ‘no’ outright”.
Earlier this week, Ukraine accepted the US-proposed ceasefire deal, which Russia is but to conform to.
“I strongly urge everybody who can affect Russia, particularly the US, to take robust steps that may assist,” Zelensky stated in his social media posts on Friday, including Putin wouldn’t cease the conflict on his personal.
“Putin is mendacity about the true scenario on the battlefield… the casualties” and “the true state of his financial system”, he stated, explaining that Putin was “doing the whole lot attainable to make sure that diplomacy fails”.
However the White Home believes the 2 sides have “by no means been this near peace”.
Speaking to reporters, White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt maintained that the talks between Putin and Witkoff in Moscow on Thursday have been “productive”.
She added that Trump has been “placing stress on Putin and the Russians to do the proper factor”.
Trump’s social media submit additionally “strongly requested” that Putin ought to spare the lives of Ukrainian troops, whom he described as surrounded by Russian forces, including it could be a “horrible bloodbath” not seen since World Conflict Two.
His feedback got here after Putin stated on Thursday that Ukrainian troops in Kursk had been “remoted” and have been making an attempt to go away, as Russia ramps up efforts to reclaim the area invaded by Ukraine final yr.
However on Friday, Ukraine’s armed forces common workers denied the encirclement of its troops, calling it “false and fabricated”.
In an announcement, it stated operations have been persevering with, with Ukrainian troops having withdrawn and “efficiently regrouped” to raised defensive positions.
“There isn’t any risk of encirclement of our items,” it stated on Telegram.
In response to Trump’s request, Putin stated Ukrainian troopers in Kursk can be handled with “dignity according to the norms of worldwide legislation and the legal guidelines of the Russian Federation” in the event that they gave up arms and surrendered.
In the meantime, G7 members have been assembly in Quebec, the place host Canadian Overseas Minister Mélanie Joly stated all of the members agreed with the US proposal of a ceasefire that’s supported by Ukrainians.
“And we at the moment are learning and taking a look at Russian reactions, so in the end the ball is now in Russia’s courtroom in terms of Ukraine.”
UK Overseas Secretary David Lammy, who was additionally on the assembly, stated the members have been united in calling for a ceasefire with “no situations”.
Following the assembly, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the US wouldn’t make international coverage choices primarily based on what leaders stated on social media or at a information convention, and harassed the “solely solution to finish this conflict is thru a technique of negotiations”.