Trump described Putin’s initial reaction to the ceasefire plan as “very promising”, but incomplete. “We’d like to see a ceasefire from Russia,” he said. “Now we’re going to see whether or not Russia’s there, and if they’re not, it will be a very disappointing moment for the world … Hopefully, they’ll do the right thing.”
There had also been detailed discussions about what land Ukraine might give up in a peace agreement, Trump said. “We’ve not been working in the dark, we’ve been discussing … pieces of land that would be kept and lost, and all of the other elements of a final agreement. There’s a power plant involved … it’s not an easy process.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the US in particular needed to bring more pressure to bear on Moscow at this critical time.Credit: AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – whose relationship with Trump and the administration was sorely tested after a catastrophic meeting at the White House two weeks ago – said he supported the full ceasefire sought by the Americans, but argued Putin was wrongly being given the benefit of the doubt.
“We want to trust America and its President. Ukraine is ready to act quickly and constructively. And we have warned that the only side that will try to sabotage everything will not be us,” Zelensky said in a series of posts on social media platform X on Friday.
“Putin is lying about the real situation on the battlefield, he is lying about the casualties, he is lying about the true state of his economy, which has been damaged by his foolish imperial ambitions, and he is doing everything possible to ensure that diplomacy fails.
“Putin cannot exit this war because that would leave him with nothing. That is why he is now doing everything he can to sabotage diplomacy by setting extremely difficult and unacceptable conditions right from the start.
“I strongly urge everyone who can influence Russia, especially the United States, to take strong steps that can help. Pressure must be applied to the one who does not want to stop the war.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the events of the week added up to “positive momentum” for peace. “I think there is reason to be cautiously optimistic. But by the same token, we continue to recognise this is a difficult and complex situation,” he told reporters at a G7 meeting in Canada.
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“We’ll see what Russia and others are willing to do. It’s not just Russia, obviously; it has to be things that are acceptable to Ukraine.”
Asked whether he trusted Putin, Rubio dismissed the question as irrelevant.
“In foreign policy, it’s not about trusting, it’s about actions, it’s about things that you do,” he said. “In the end, on something like this, you can’t just say you want peace, you have to do peace, and that’s true for both sides.”
with Reuters
