Desk Report,
Zelensky wants direct meeting with Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is ready to meet directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelensky wants direct meeting with Putin
Zelensky also said that a meeting at the leadership level is necessary to establish real peace and lasting peace.
In his address to the nation yesterday, Zelensky said that everything that is necessary to achieve a ceasefire should be done. Russia should stop running away from decisions.
Ukraine has offered Russia a new round of peace talks. After talks stalled last month, Kiev now wants peace talks to start next week. The Ukrainian president confirmed the proposal on Saturday. There was no immediate response from Russia on Ukraine’s proposal.
Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustam Umerov was appointed head of the National Security and Defense Council last week. He has been tasked with accelerating peace talks.
Umerov led the Ukrainian delegation to two rounds of peace talks held in Turkey earlier this year. However, the talks have not made much progress, except for an agreement on the exchange of bodies of captured and killed soldiers.
Russia had set several tough conditions in previous talks. Among the conditions was to recognize four occupied regions of Ukraine as part of Russia and to reject Western military assistance. Kiev did not accept these conditions.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow agreed with Zelensky’s statement on the need to accelerate peace efforts.
Moscow’s change in position came at a time when US President Donald Trump has increased pressure on Russia. After taking office in January, Trump initially showed some flexibility towards Russia, but now he has increased the pressure.
Last week, Trump gave Russia a 50-day deadline to stop the war. He threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Russian goods if the war is not stopped by the specified time. At the same time, Trump has pledged to send more weapons aid to Ukraine.
