Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he expected Russia that she is committed to respecting a 30-day ceasefire from Monday and that kyiv was “ready” for direct talks with Moscow as his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin proposed.
“There is no need to continue the killing, if only one day. We expect Russia that it confirms a ceasefire, complete, sustainable and reliable, from tomorrow May 12, and Ukraine is ready to meet her, “said Zelensky on social networks.
The Ukrainian president also said that he saw a “positive sign” in the fact that Russia was beginning to consider putting an end to the war in Ukraine, launched in February 2022.
“The whole world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step to really put an end to a war is a cease-fire, “he added.
“Positive sign”
“The declared will of Russia to end war is a positive sign. Take concrete measures in this sense, “added Ukrainian diplomacy, Andriï Sybiga on X.
The head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriï Iermak, insisted on the need to have “first” the ceasefire, “then everything else”. “Russia should not hide its desire to continue the war by verbal constructions,” he said.
Vladimir Putin proposed “direct” and “without prerequisite” negotiations on Sunday between Russia and Ukraine on Thursday in Istanbul, pushing for such discussions any possibility of establishing a 30-day ceasefire required by the Kiev allies.
The Russian President has “not excluded” that the idea of a ceasefire was discussed during talks with kyiv, but he stressed that these discussions should focus on “the deep causes of the conflict”.
Group and rearm
Ukraine had already proposed on several occasions in recent weeks of 30 -day truces to Russia, which had been rejected by Moscow which believes that this break in the fighting would allow the army of kyiv to regroup and rearm thanks to the delivery of Western weapons.
Russia thus wants concrete commitments on its requests, including the end of Western deliveries, before agreeing to silence the weapons on the front.
Moscow explains its invasion of Ukraine, in particular by the will of this country to integrate NATO, a military alliance that Russia considers as an existential threat which extends to its borders.
The Russian army currently occupies around 20% of the Ukrainian territory and claims the annexation of four southern and eastern regions of the country, in addition to the Crimea annexed in 2014.
