Zelenskyy: US should not agree to Russian "buts" on ceasefire
www.pravda.com.ua
Sat, 15 Mar 2025 18:20:21 +0200
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has highlighted the necessity of the US refusing to accept Russias additional demands for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
He also added that US President Donald Trumps position towards Moscow should be strict if it rejects his proposal for a 30day ceasefire.
Source Zelenskyy at a briefing broadcast by Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne Quote Today, several partners emphasised that, regarding the ceasefire, the most important thing is that neither America nor anyone else should accept the Russian but.
A ceasefire should not come with a but.
It is a 30day ceasefire, not an eternity, giving all parties the opportunity to demonstrate their willingness to end the war or the opposite...
Weve agreed on how we see it.
A US official has met with the Russians.
They discussed something and coordinated some positions.
Lets see what happens next.
I think that in the coming days, we will coordinate with the US on the next steps.
If the Russians dont agree with President Trumps position, we very much believe that President Trumps position is going to be clear, tough and direct towards Putin.
Details Commenting on a visit to Moscow by US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine cannot know with certainty what had been discussed there.
But we understand that there will be many different buts to put Ukraine in a weaker situation.
And Americas position is critical here.
If the ceasefire is complete, then without any buts.
Everyones position should be clear, transparent, truthful, without losing the dignity of the parties, he said.
Zelenskyy also believes that the ceasefire can last for more than 30 days, but during this time, an agreement on the following steps to end the war should be worked out.
It may not be 30 days it could take a bit longer.
However, it is crucial that a specific time frame is set in the ceasefire agreement.
This will limit the chances for the Russians to turn it into an endless frozen conflict, the president said.
The Ukrainian leader believes the issue of control over territories is a complicated subject that should be resolved through diplomacy.
He cautioned against relating this issue to the first step because it could cause the process to take longer.
Zelenskyy stated that US officials did not impose any demands on Ukraine to stop the war at the conference in Saudi Arabia.
There were no additional conditions at the meeting in Saudi Arabia.
Everyone was thrilled that, first of all, the two countries were together, which was a serious step forward.
Second, that Ukraine had taken such a serious diplomatic step.
And everyone was also pleased.
Let America now make Putin take the first step.
Then we will discuss all the other steps, he said.
Background On Thursday 13 March, Putin said that Russia agreed with the proposal to end hostilities in Ukraine, but that this must lead to a lasting peace.
Putin noted that many questions need to be resolved within the framework of such a ceasefire, such as whether Ukraine will continue to mobilise troops and receive weapons, how monitoring and verification will be handled, and who will determine violations along the 2,000km front line.
Zelenskyy noted that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has put forward additional conditions for the cessation of hostilities, indicating that he does not want to stop them.
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