Ukraine calls for negotiations with Russia next week

Ukraine calls for negotiations with Russia next week

The Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj has announced that he would like to convene a meeting with Russia next week to advance the talks about an armistice. In his daily speech on Saturday, Selenskyj mentioned that the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Rustem Umerow, has already proposed a meeting with the Russian side for the next week.

Need for an armistice

"The dynamics of the negotiations have to improve. We have to do everything we can to achieve an armistice. The Russian side has to stop making decisions regarding the prisoner exchanges, the return of children and the termination of killings," said Selenskyj.

demand for a meeting at management level

"A meeting at the management level is crucial to really secure peace. Ukraine is ready for such a meeting," he added.

status of the last negotiations

In the meantime, the Russian state medium of Tass reported that a source in the Russian negotiation team confirmed that they received the proposal from Kiev for a meeting. The last round of the talks about a ceasefire in Istanbul quickly ended in early June when Russian and Ukrainian delegates only swayed a little more than an hour before they stopped negotiations. According to Russian state media, Russia made maximum territorial demands as part of its preconditions for an armistice. Ukraine has previously refused to consider territorial concessions in exchange for peace.

Trump expresses pressure on Russia

selenskyjs call to talks comes shortly after the statement by US President Donald Trump that he has a 50-tage-window offered to achieve a ceasefire before the USA collects high tariffs to Russian goods. There are also "secondary tariffs" on goods from countries that buy Russian oil.

Trump emphasizes the role of trade

"We will impose very high tariffs if we have no agreement in 50 days," Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office this week. "I use the trade for many things. But it's great to end wars," he added.

Putin's reactions and western analyzes

Trump has increasingly expressed frustration about Russian President Vladimir Putin and even complained that Putin's assurance of progress in the event of a ceasefire was "nonsense". Nevertheless, Western analysts and Ukrainian civil servants to prevent the Russian offensive accelerating in the summer in the coming weeks. In addition, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lawrow dismissed the threatened tariffs from Trump as an empty talk.

outlook and current developments

"Fifty days - that used to be 24 hours," noted Lawrow. "There were 100 days; we already went through all of that." These statements indicate that the situation between Russia and Ukraine remains tense and the international efforts to make peace are facing significant challenges.