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Russian President Vladimir Putin sought answers to ‘serious questions’ on the Ukraine ceasefire proposal from US counterpart Donald Trump.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and US President Donald Trump are pictured before a meeting in Helsinki in this 2018 file photo. (IMAGE: AFP)
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin’s, statement on the Washington-backed Ukraine ceasefire plan was ‘promising’ but not complete.
Trump told reporters that Putin had put out “a very promising statement” on a possible Ukraine truce, but he added that “it wasn’t complete”.
The US president said that “I’d love to meet with him or talk to him. But we have to get it over with fast.”
Trump, whose special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday for talks on Ukraine, added that it would be “a very disappointing moment for the world” if Russia rejects the peace plan.
“A lot of the details of a final agreement have actually been discussed. Now we’re going to see if Russia is there and, if not, it will be a very disappointing moment for the world,” Trump said.
Trump also gave a glimpse of the negotiations for a longer-term peace after any ceasefire, including what territory Ukraine would have to give up to Russia.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“We have not been working in the dark. We’ve been discussing with Ukraine land and pieces of land that would be kept and lost,” he said.
He added that there was also “a very big power plant involved — who’s going to get the power plant?”
Trump did not name the give any specifics but the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently held by Russia, is on the front lines of the fighting. It is Europe’s largest nuclear power station.
Negotiations were complex because they were effectively “creating the edge of a country,” Trump added.
Ukraine agreed to a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire at talks in Saudi Arabia this week, bowing to pressure after a showdown between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on February 28.
(with inputs from AFP)
- Location :
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
