Berlin, Aug 16 (EFE).- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that Russia’s refusal to agree to a cease-fire before embarking on negotiating a peace deal complicates the situation.<\/p>
“We see that Russia rebuffs numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing. This complicates the situation,” the Ukrainian president stated in a message on X.<\/p>
“If they lack the will to carry out a simple order to stop the strikes, it may take a lot of effort to get Russia to have the will to implement far greater \u2013 peaceful coexistence with its neighbors for decades,” he added.<\/p>
Nevertheless, Zelenskyy assured that Ukraine is working with its allies towards peace and security.<\/p>
Stopping the killing is a key element of stopping the war,” reiterated the Ukrainian president, who added that he is preparing for a meeting on Monday in Washington with United States President Donald Trump, who met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.<\/p>
“It is important that everyone agrees there needs to be a conversation at the level of leaders to clarify all the details and determine which steps are necessary and will work,” he commented regarding Trump’s proposal for a trilateral summit with Putin.<\/p>
In earlier statements on Saturday, the Ukrainian president set among the priorities for negotiating a peace agreement the declaration of a ceasefire on all fronts and the release of all Ukrainians in Russian captivity.<\/p>
He also insisted on the importance of credible security guarantees involving both Europe and the US, and demanded that territorial issues should not be decided without Ukraine. EFE<\/p>
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