Washington: Stating that the US negotiators are headed to Russia for talks on a possible ceasefire with Ukraine, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, of ‘devastating’ sanctions if Moscow refused a deal.
Trump made this statement a day after Kyiv agreed to a 30-day truce. He, however, did not give further details about the deal on ceasefire.
According to reports, the White House stated his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was going to Moscow later this week.
“We could do things very bad for Russia. It would be devastating for Russia. But I don’t want to do that because I want to see peace, and we’re getting close to maybe getting something done,” Trump told reporters.
“People are going to Russia right now as we speak. And hopefully, we can get a ceasefire from Russia. And if we do, I think that would be 80 percent of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath finished,” he added.
Two weeks back, Trump had a spat with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House over America’s stance on the war. According to reports, he later halted military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. He resumed the same after Kyiv agreed to the truce proposal last Tuesday in Saudi Arabia.
Zelensky On Ukraine Ceasefire Proposal
After US and Ukrainian officials concluded talks, Volodymyr Zelensky backed the ceasefire proposal. However, he said Washington needed to persuade Russia to accept it.
“Ukraine welcomes this proposal, we consider it positive, we are ready to take such a step. The United States of America has to convince Russia to do this,” he said.
“So we agree, and if the Russians agree, the ceasefire will work at that very moment,” the Ukrainian leader had said, adding that he had no trust on Russia.