Zelensky's chief of staff heads to US after Russia peace talks, source says
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, is traveling to the U.S., a source close to the Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent on June 3.
The visit follows the second round of Russian-Ukrainian peace talks in Istanbul on June 2, which focused on a new prisoner exchange but yet again failed to achieve a breakthrough in peace efforts.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged U.S. President Donald Trump to impose additional sanctions on Russia if the peace talks stall.
"If the Istanbul meeting brings nothing, that clearly means strong new sanctions are urgently needed — from the EU's 18th package, and from the United States specifically, the strongest sanctions President Trump promised," Zelensky said on June 2.
Trump said on May 28 that the U.S. would soon know whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about ending the war. If not, he warned, Washington would "respond a little bit differently."
The U.S. president also said last month he had not yet imposed new sanctions on Russia because he believed a peace deal might be within reach. "If I think I'm close to getting a deal, I don't want to screw it up by doing that," he said, but added he is prepared to act if Moscow stalls further.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who led the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul, slammed Russia for "once again stalling for time."
Rejecting Kyiv's offer of a long-term truce, Russia only proposed a temporary two- to three-day ceasefire in specific areas of the front line to allow for the retrieval of fallen soldiers' bodies. Ukraine and Russia also agreed to work on another prisoner exchange with up to 1,200 captives from each side.
Zelensky further revealed that Ukraine seeks new agreements with the U.S. on the purchase of weapons, adding that "appropriate meetings" will be scheduled but providing few details.
The Trump administration has not approved any new major military aid packages for Ukraine, and the assistance allocated under the previous Biden administration is steadily running out. Zelensky's team has therefore offered Washington to buy U.S. weapons instead of receiving them as donations.
Read also: Russian propagandists split between downplaying devastating Ukrainian attacks and issuing threats
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