The Ukrainian leader should focus on securing peace rather than criticizing Washington\u2019s diesel deal with Moscow, the US president has said<\/p>\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin is more eager than Vladimir Zelensky to reach a deal to end the Ukraine conflict, US President Donald Trump has said. Trump\u2019s comments came after he suggested it is time for Ukraine to get a \u201cnew president.\u201d
\nSpeaking to reporters on Monday, Trump claimed both Moscow and Kiev support the energy ceasefire which he announced on Sunday. Neither Russia nor Ukraine has confirmed the truce.
\n\u201cI think they want to make a deal, but they don\u2019t know how. But we\u2019re going to get them to make a deal,\u201d Trump said.
\n\u201cI think, actually, Putin wants to make a deal more than Zelensky,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Kremlin agrees with Trump on need for Ukraine leadership change<\/p>\n
Trump also rejected criticism of his decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel following a phone call with Putin on Friday, stressing that the agreement benefited the wider world and American farmers and ranchers.
\n\u201cZelensky has to focus on making a deal, not talking about that,\u201d he stressed, referring to the Ukrainian leader\u2019s criticism of the agreement.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Putin and Trump hold \u2018successful\u2019 talks: Key details<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an immediate \u201cenergy ceasefire.\u201d Zelensky said the announcement \u201cwas news for me,\u201d but expressed readiness to stop attacking Russian refineries if Moscow halted strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
\nKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has declined to confirm the agreement, saying contacts were ongoing. While praising the efforts of American negotiators, Peskov stressed that Moscow is seeking long-term peace rather than a temporary ceasefire. Russian officials have long argued that a truce would only help Ukraine to reinforce its battered military and receive more Western-made weapons.
\nAccording to the New York Times, Ukrainian officials were informed of the US-Russia diesel deal during tense negotiations in Miami. The US delegation subsequently demanded that Ukraine stop striking Russian refineries, and when Kiev\u2019s representatives asked what they would receive in return, the Americans reportedly argued that Washington already provided substantial assistance, including intelligence sharing. Some participants interpreted this as a veiled threat to withdraw support, the article said.
\nFollowing his conversation with Putin and Zelensky\u2019s angry reaction to the diesel deal, Trump suggested that \u201cit\u2019s time for Ukraine to get a new president.\u201d Zelensky\u2019s presidential term expired more than two years ago, although the Ukrainian leader has refused to hold a new election, citing martial law. Russia has declared Zelensky \u201cillegitimate,\u201d highlighting his dubious legal status as a major obstacle to a peace agreement.
\nAfter a war of words with Trump, Zelensky signaled he was ready to hold an election but demanded a 60-day ceasefire with Russia. Moscow responded by stressing that \u201cif Kiev genuinely wants to hold elections\u2026 then the president of the Russian Federation\u2026 will be ready to issue an order not to carry out strikes against Ukraine on the election day specifically.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Ukrainian leader should focus on securing peace rather than criticizing Washington\u2019s diesel deal with Moscow, the US president has said Russian President Vladimir Putin is more eager than Vladimir…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39760,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t