US President Donald Trump said in an interview with ABC News that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to end the war in Ukraine, despite Russia's continued attacks on Ukrainian cities.
"I think so - he wants peace", Trump said in response to a question about whether he believes Putin wants an end to the conflict. According to him, although the Russian leader's dream was "to take over the whole country", this will not happen precisely because of his influence: "I think thanks to me he will not do it".
However, Trump refused to answer directly whether he trusts the Russian president. "I don't trust you. I don't trust many people, but I think he respects me, and I believe that because of me he won't take over all of Ukraine," the American president emphasized.
He also admitted that he "wasn't happy" when he saw Putin launch missiles at Ukrainian cities, and admitted that the Russian leader could be "somewhat deceiving him." However, Trump expressed hope that Putin was "ready to stop fighting."
We recall that State Department spokeswoman Tammy Brooks said: "Now is the time for concrete proposals from Moscow and Kiev to end the war in Ukraine. The United States will withdraw as a mediator if there is no progress. She quoted a statement by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
If Russia really wants a ceasefire, it should not wait until May 8 to stop its aggression, but can stop the violence immediately. This was stated at a briefing by the European Commission spokesperson Anita Hipper.
Her words were on the occasion of the ceasefire announced by Russian leader Vladimir Putin from May 8 to 11.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded that there is no need to wait until that date to stop the fighting, as this can happen immediately.
Ukraine has not responded to numerous proposals from Russian President Vladimir Putin to start direct peace talks and it is unclear whether it will join the three-day ceasefire he announced for next month. This was announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.