Zelenskyy proposes new round of peace talks with Russia
In a video message posted on X, Zelenskyy urged "the pace of negotiations must be increased" to ensure lasting peace. "A meeting at the level of leaders is needed," he said, emphasising Ukraine's willingness to do so.
Ukraine's newly appointed Secretary of National Security and Defence, Rustem Umerov, was the one who sent Moscow the invitation, Zelenskyy said. He also previously lead the delegation talks held in Istanbul last month.
The previous negotations held in June failed to lead to a ceasefire agreement, but did result in a new prisoner of war exchange.
The first round of negotiations held on 16 May also resulted in a prisoner exchange, the largest one yet, but hadn't yielded much result either regarding putting an end to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In his video address, Zelenskyy also urged Western allies to further toughen their sanctions against Russia.
"It is very important that the new EU sanctions package is also supported by other free European countries that are currently not part of the European Union," Zelenskyy said.
"We are also working on the American track, there are agreements with President Trump that must be implemented as soon as possible," he added.
A day prior to Zelenskyy's address, the EU imposed new sanctions on Russia, targeting its oil and banks. It marks the 18th package of sanctions imposed by the EU since February 2022.
Earlier this month, the US President also threatened harsher sanctions on Russia if a peace agreement was not reached within 50 days.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump framed the threat as a response to Russia "absolutely 'pounding' Ukraine on the battlefield right now."
"To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you," the US president said.
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