Zelensky says US must now ‘convince’ Russia to accept truce

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday backed the United States’s (US) proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but said Washington needed to persuade Russia to accept it.

His comments came after US and Ukrainian officials concluded lengthy talks in Saudi Arabia, in which Washington agreed to resume intelligence sharing with Kyiv and mooted a 30-day truce with Moscow.

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“Ukraine welcomes this proposal, we consider it positive, we are ready to take such a step. The United States of America has to convince Russia to do this,” Zelensky said of the proposed truce in his evening address.

“So we agree, and if the Russians agree, the ceasefire will work at that very moment,” he added.

“The American side understands our arguments, perceives our proposals, and I want to thank President Trump for the constructive conversation between our teams,” he said.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has been pushing Ukraine into reaching a “deal” to end the more than three-year war with Russia.

The Kremlin has previously rejected any temporary ceasefire.

A senior Ukrainian official told AFP that the talks in Saudi Arabia earlier had yielded “initial steps”.

“We will see if the Russians are ready for anything at all,” they said.

Ukraine also pressed the US about including Europe in any peace negotiations during the talks in Saudi Arabia, amid frustration among European leaders that they are being squeezed out.

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“We stick to our position: no decisions on the long-term security of Europe without Europe,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said following the talks.