The Ukrainian Foreign Minister says it’s time to show that Russia “want peace” like us, Russian leaders are in talks.
Ukraine has urged Russia to accept the US proposal for a ceasefire, as President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are in talks about the war.
Kiev and its European allies have requested that the Russian president fully embrace the 30-day ceasefire proposed in the United States during Tuesday’s call.
“We expect Russia to unconditionally agree to this proposal,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andri Sibikh said before the meeting. “It’s time to show whether Russia really wants peace or not.”
Trump said Monday that Washington and Moscow were already debating between Ukraine and Russia about “splitting certain assets,” including territory and power plants, as part of their ceasefire deal.
In preparation for the talks, the Semafor News website released a report in 2014 citing two sources that it believes the Trump administration has recognized Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine as its territory.
The Kremlin has repeatedly said that Crimea, which is based on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and that the population before the annexation is mostly Russian speakers, but it is already officially part of Russia.
Kiev says it wants the Black Sea Peninsula, which is internationally recognized as Ukraine’s territory by most countries.
Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky accused Putin of not wanting peace and continuing to “tear the war” to improve the country’s military status ahead of the suspension of combat.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added on Tuesday to reporters that Trump and Putin will discuss the war in Ukraine, but there will also be “many questions” about normalizing relations between the US and Russia.
Nuclear Plant
Secretary of State Marco Rubio persuaded senior Ukrainian officials during talks in Saudi Arabia and agreed to a ceasefire framework.
In preparation for Trump Putin’s call, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkov met with Putin in Moscow last week to discuss his proposal.
He suggested that US and Russian officials discussed the fate of the Zaporidia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.
The factory, which has been caught up in Crossfire since Moscow seized Crossfire after invading Ukraine in 2022, is a key asset that produces almost a quarter of Ukraine’s postwar power.
Trump on Monday claimed that Russian troops were “surrounded” by Ukrainian troops, which last year controlled 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) in Russia’s Kursk region.
Zelenskyy acknowledges that the Ukrainian army faces difficulties there, but claims that the Russians surrounded his army.