Ceasefire on the table? Rubio awaits Russia's terms, Zelensky warns of delay tactics
WASHINGTON, May 21 — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday he expected Russia to present a Ukraine ceasefire outline within days that will show if it is serious, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of buying time.
President Donald Trump spoke separately by telephone on Monday to Zelensky and Russia's Vladimir Putin, after Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Istanbul on Friday for their first direct talks on the conflict in three years.
Putin has consistently rejected proposals for a 30-day truce put forward by Kyiv and its Western allies.
But Rubio said that Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov indicated they would present their own terms 'maybe in a number of days, maybe this week hopefully.'
The Russians will offer 'just broad terms that would allow us to move towards a ceasefire, and that ceasefire would then allow us to enter into detailed negotiations to bring about an end of the conflict,' Rubio said.
He said that the presentation will 'tell us a lot about their true intentions.'
'If it's a term sheet that's realistic and you can work off of it, that's one thing. If it makes demands that we know are unrealistic, I think that will be indicative.'
Putin after Trump's call said he was ready to work with Ukraine on a 'memorandum' outlining a possible roadmap and different positions on ending the war.
And Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni yesterday said that Pope Leo XIV was willing 'to host upcoming discussions between the parties at the Vatican,' according to her office.
'Trying to buy time'
Rubio insisted to critical lawmakers that Putin 'hasn't gotten a single concession' from Trump. But Russia has also not indicated any new flexibility since Trump took office in January with vows to end the war through dialogue.
'It is obvious that Russia is trying to buy time in order to continue its war and occupation,' Zelensky said in a post on social media.
Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Rubio that Putin's refusal to go to Istanbul despite the stated willingness of both Zelensky and Trump to meet showed 'he believes it's in Russia's interest to carry out this war as long as possible.'
The European Union formally yesterday adopted its 17th round of sanctions on Moscow, targeting 200 vessels of Russia's so-called shadow maritime fleet.
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's Direct Investment Fund and lead economic negotiator with Washington, attacked the move, saying: 'Western politicians and the media are making titanic efforts to disrupt the constructive dialogue between Russia and the United States.'
Rubio said that Trump for now opposed new sanctions for fear that Russia would no longer come to the table.
Moscow appears confident, with its troops advancing on the battlefield and Trump ending Western isolation of the Kremlin.
The memorandum mentioned by Putin 'buys time for Russia,' Russian political analyst Konstantin Kalachev said.
'The cessation of hostilities is not a condition for it, which means that Russia can continue its offensive,' he added.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and has since destroyed swathes of the country's east, killed tens of thousands and now controls around one-fifth of its territory.
Trump is no 'messiah'
People who spoke to AFP both in Kyiv and Moscow were sceptical about peace prospects and thought the Putin-Trump call had not brought them closer.
'I never had any faith in him and now I have none at all,' retired teacher Victoria Kyseliova said in Kyiv, when asked if she was losing confidence in Trump.
Vitaliy, a 53-year-old engineer from Kyiv, said Trump was no 'messiah' and that his flurry of diplomacy has changed little.
Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said Trump's latest calls had only added to the uncertainty.
'This conversation not only failed to clarify the future of the negotiations but further confused the situation,' he said.
He said Trump had fallen for Putin's tactics of trying to use talks 'as a cover to continue and intensify the war.'
In Moscow, there was defiance and confidence.
'I believe that we don't need these negotiations. We will win anyway,' said Marina, a 70-year-old former engineer. — AFP
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