Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a meeting with Russian officials next week to advance discussions on a ceasefire amidst ongoing hostilities. The proposal for this meeting was made by Rustem Umerov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. In his remarks, Zelensky highlighted the urgent necessity to reengage in conversation from day one. This call follows the brief and unproductive ceasefire talks in Istanbul earlier this month.
The final round of direct negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives ended abruptly. It was just over an hour long, and ultimately neither side walked out with a solution in place. This lack of progress highlights the difficulties that both countries have in obtaining a long lasting peaceful accord.
In a surprising parallel move, U.S. President Donald Trump just made it official as well. He has since extended Russian President Vladimir Putin’s deadline for a ceasefire by 50 days. Trump threatens that if a deal isn’t made by this date, Russia will be subjected to severe economic repercussions. He wants you to feel the urgency of the situation. In retaliation against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he reportedly threatened to impose 1000% tariffs on Russian goods. Furthermore, he threatened “secondary tariffs” on any countries that still purchase Russian oil.
“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” – Donald Trump
Nevertheless, in the face of these threats, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called Trump’s threats alarmist. Lavrov’s reaction was scornful. To which he responded, “Fifty days – it used to be 24 hours.” To underscore his scorn over the U.S. president’s proposed timeline for talks.
Zelensky further noted, perhaps most importantly, that Ukraine wants to see the Russian side tackling key humanitarian concerns. He urged the delegation not to continue to skirt around hard questions about the possibility of similar, future prisoner exchanges and rescuing children. He strongly maintained that Russia should no longer be allowed to evade meetings on the end of violence against civilians.
“But it’s great for settling wars,” – Donald Trump
Ukraine has made no secret of their adamant refusal to settle on any territorial concessions to Russia for peace. Actually, alt-right darlings Trump and Putin are aligned in the expanding political scene. In recent weeks, Trump has described Putin’s assurances about progress toward a ceasefire as “bullshit,” highlighting the deteriorating trust between the U.S. and Russia.
