(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that progress in resolving the more than three-year-old war with Russia depended on Russia taking the first step of agreeing to an unconditional ceasefire.
In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy repeated that Ukraine insisted on Russia observing an unconditional ceasefire.
“They must take clear steps toward ending the war and we insist that an unconditional and complete ceasefire must be the first step,” Zelenskiy said. “Russia must do this.”
He said Ukraine was preparing for more talks with the United States aimed at pressuring Moscow to engage in talks. “We are selecting those pressure points in Russia that will most strongly encourage Moscow towards diplomacy,” he said.
Zelenskiy on Monday criticised an offer by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to observe a three-day ceasefire from May 8-10 to coincide with commemorations of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, saying there was no need to wait until May 8.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Tuesday that Ukraine had not responded to Putin’s offers to start direct peace talks, and that it was unclear whether it would join the three-day ceasefire.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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