President Volodymyr Zelensky, from Ukraine, said that he was expecting to speak Wednesday with President Trump to “discuss details of the next steps” after the American chief’s call with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
The Kremlin said that during a call to President Trump on Tuesday, Mr. Putin had accepted a limited ceasefire that would stop attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. The proposal failed an unconditional 30 -day truce that kyiv had accepted at the request of Washington.
On Wednesday, Zelensky appeared open to the last offer of a limited ceasefire, but said that he thought that such a truce would need American surveillance to work.
“If the Russians do not hit our facilities, we will certainly not hit their own,” Zelensky said at a press conference in Helsinki alongside Finland President Alexander Stubb.
Stressing the lack of confidence between Ukraine and Russia, the two countries discussed accusations on Wednesday about attacks on the other’s energy infrastructure.
Mr. Zelensky characterized some of the conditions that Mr. Putin established for a broader ceasefire – such as a request for a complete cessation of foreign military aid and intelligence to Ukraine – as an attempt to win time so that Russia can improve the positions of its forces on the battlefield and his hand of negotiation.
The Ukrainian president reiterated this point on Tuesday evening after the call between Mr. Putin and Trump, saying that it was clear that Russia was “not ready to end this war”.
“They are not even ready to take the first step towards a cease-fire because they will continue to impose additional conditions,” he said.
The 30-day cease-fire proposal that Ukraine had accepted after the interviews with American officials in Saudi Arabia was more extensive. He would have applied to the land, to the air and to the sea – the first cessation of hostilities since the large -scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia more than three years ago. The truce of a month, said Zelensky, was supposed to give time to more complete negotiations on a longer term peace.
Anastasia kuznietsova Contributed reports.
