US President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned that Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would be “devastating” sanctions should Moscow refuse to do business with a ceasefire in the Ukrainian war.
After a meeting with Ireland’s Prime Minister Michel Martin at the White House, Trump said US negotiators were heading to Russia “now” for a meeting about a possible ceasefire with Ukraine the day after Kiev agreed to a 30-day ceasefire. However, he did not provide details.
The White House later said his special envoy, Steve Witkov, will be in Moscow later this week.
“We were able to do something very bad for Russia. It’s devastating for Russia. But I don’t want to do it because I want to see peace.
“As we’re talking, people are going to Russia now. And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia. And if that’s the case, I think it’s 80% of the way to finish this horrible blood bus,” he said while talking about the Three Years’ War.
Trump’s warning comes two weeks after an explosive nausea with Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky at the White House about US stance on war.
He later halted sharing military aid with Ukraine and intelligence news, but resumed after Kiev agreed to the armistice proposal on Tuesday.
Zelensky on Ukraine’s ceasefire proposal
After US and Ukrainian officials signed talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Voldimir Zelensky supported the proposal for a ceasefire, but Washington said it needed to persuade Russia to accept it.
“Ukraine welcomes this proposal. We consider it positive. We are ready to take that step. The United States must convince Russia to do this,” he said.
“So we agree and if the Russians agree, the ceasefire will work in that moment,” the Ukrainian leader added.
He then told reporters that the Ukrainians were not confident that the fight would cease. “I’ve highlighted this many times. None of us trusts the Russians.”
“It all depends on whether Russia wants a ceasefire and silence, or whether it wants to continue killing people,” he added.
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