Latest news with #RustemUmerov
Sky News
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Ukraine proposes renewed peace talks - as Zelenskyy urges Russia to 'stop avoiding decisions'
Volodmyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine has proposed renewed ceasefire talks with Russia for next week. The Ukrainian president said his government was working to implement the agreements reached during the last set of talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul. That was the second round of peace talks between representatives of Russia and Ukraine in just over two weeks. Mr Zelenskyy said negotiations with Russia on the prisoners of war swaps, agreed at the most recent talks, were ongoing. But despite the agreement, no progress has so far been made towards ending the war, according to officials. Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's delegation, has suggested holding the third round of direct peace talks next week, according to the president. "The negotiation dynamics need to be intensified. We must do everything possible to achieve a ceasefire," Mr Zelenskyy said. "The Russian side must stop avoiding decisions... A meeting at the leaders' level is needed to secure a lasting peace truly. Ukraine is ready for such a meeting." 👉 Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim on your podcast app 👈 Mr Zelenskyy's comments come as Russia launched a significant drone and missile attack on Ukraine overnight, killing one person, and injuring six others, in the port city of Odessa. The Ukrainian president said in a post on X that Russia had fired more than 300 drones and over 30 cruise missiles as part of the attack. The latest round of long-range attacks comes after Russia unleashed more than 700 drones on 8 July - a new record. Its stepped-up bombing campaign has dashed hopes for a breakthrough in the ongoing efforts to bring the war to an end, after more than three years of fighting. Russia's defence ministry said it had shot down 71 Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday.
CNN
6 hours ago
- Business
- CNN
Zelensky calls for ceasefire talks with Russia next week
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he's calling for a meeting with Russia next week to push forward ceasefire talks. Ukraine's Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, has already proposed the next meeting with the Russian side for next week, Zelensky said during his daily address on Saturday. 'The dynamics of the negotiations must improve. We need to do everything possible to achieve a ceasefire. The Russian side must stop avoiding decisions regarding prisoner exchanges, the return of children, and the cessation of killings,' Zelensky said. 'A meeting at the leadership level is essential to genuinely secure peace. Ukraine is ready for such a meeting,' he added. Meanwhile, Russian state media outlet TASS reported that a source close to Russia's negotiating team confirmed that they had received Kyiv's proposal for a meeting. The last round of ceasefire talks in Istanbul ended swiftly in early June, with Russian and Ukrainian delegates meeting for barely over an hour before calling it quits. According to Russian state media, Russia put forward maximalist territorial demands as part of their preconditions for a ceasefire. Ukraine has previously refused to consider any territorial concessions in exchange for peace. Zelensky's call for talks arrives just after US President Donald Trump offered Russian President Vladimir Putin a 50-day window to achieve a ceasefire before the US implements high tariffs on Russian goods, alongside 'secondary tariffs' on goods from countries that purchase Russian oil. 'We're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days,' Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office earlier this week. 'I use trade for a lot of things,' Trump added. 'But it's great for settling wars.' Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks, even complaining that Putin's assurances about ceasefire progress are 'bullshit.' Yet Western analysts and Ukrainian officials say that the president's 50-day-window is unlikely to deter Putin from accelerating Russia's summer offensive in the coming weeks. Moreover, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has dismissed Trump's threatened tariffs as mere bluster. 'Fifty days – it used to be 24 hours,' Lavrov said. 'It used to be 100 days; we've been through all of this.'
CNN
6 hours ago
- Business
- CNN
Zelensky calls for ceasefire talks with Russia next week
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he's calling for a meeting with Russia next week to push forward ceasefire talks. Ukraine's Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, has already proposed the next meeting with the Russian side for next week, Zelensky said during his daily address on Saturday. 'The dynamics of the negotiations must improve. We need to do everything possible to achieve a ceasefire. The Russian side must stop avoiding decisions regarding prisoner exchanges, the return of children, and the cessation of killings,' Zelensky said. 'A meeting at the leadership level is essential to genuinely secure peace. Ukraine is ready for such a meeting,' he added. Meanwhile, Russian state media outlet TASS reported that a source close to Russia's negotiating team confirmed that they had received Kyiv's proposal for a meeting. The last round of ceasefire talks in Istanbul ended swiftly in early June, with Russian and Ukrainian delegates meeting for barely over an hour before calling it quits. According to Russian state media, Russia put forward maximalist territorial demands as part of their preconditions for a ceasefire. Ukraine has previously refused to consider any territorial concessions in exchange for peace. Zelensky's call for talks arrives just after US President Donald Trump offered Russian President Vladimir Putin a 50-day window to achieve a ceasefire before the US implements high tariffs on Russian goods, alongside 'secondary tariffs' on goods from countries that purchase Russian oil. 'We're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days,' Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office earlier this week. 'I use trade for a lot of things,' Trump added. 'But it's great for settling wars.' Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks, even complaining that Putin's assurances about ceasefire progress are 'bullshit.' Yet Western analysts and Ukrainian officials say that the president's 50-day-window is unlikely to deter Putin from accelerating Russia's summer offensive in the coming weeks. Moreover, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has dismissed Trump's threatened tariffs as mere bluster. 'Fifty days – it used to be 24 hours,' Lavrov said. 'It used to be 100 days; we've been through all of this.'
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ukraine proposes new round of peace talks with Russia next week
Kyiv has proposed to Moscow a new round of peace talks next week, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, after negotiations stalled in early June. Two rounds of talks in Istanbul between Moscow and Kyiv failed to result in any progress towards a ceasefire, instead yielding large-scale prisoner exchanges and deals to return the bodies of killed soldiers. 'Security council secretary [Rustem] Umerov also reported that he had proposed the next meeting with the Russian side for next week,' Zelenskyy said in his evening address to the country. 'The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up,' he added. Zelenskyy reiterated his readiness to have a face-to-face meeting with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. 'A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace – lasting peace,' he said. Umerov, a former defence minister, was appointed last week as the head of the national security and defence council and tasked with adding more momentum to the negotiations. Russia has been pressing a grinding offensive along the eastern front in Ukraine's Donetsk region. It has repeatedly said it is ready for a new round of talks but has not backed down from its maximalist war aims. At talks last month, Russia outlined a list of hardline demands, including calls for Ukraine to cede more territory and to reject all forms of western military support. Kyiv dismissed them as unacceptable and at the time questioned the point of further negotiations if Moscow was not willing to make concessions. The Kremlin said this month it was ready to continue talks with Ukraine after Donald Trump gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal or face sanctions. The US president also pledged to supply Kyiv with new military aid, sponsored by Nato allies, as its cities suffer ever-increasing Russian aerial attacks. Russian strikes on Ukraine claimed another three lives on Saturday.
Al Jazeera
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Zelenskyy says Ukraine sent Russia offer of new peace talks
Ukraine has proposed to hold a new round of peace talks with Russia next week after negotiations stalled last month. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Saturday that Defence Council secretary Rustem Umerov made the offer of a meeting with Russian negotiators for next week. 'Everything should be done to achieve a ceasefire,' Zelenskyy said in his evening address to the nation. 'The Russian side should stop hiding from decisions.' Ukraine's leader also reiterated his readiness to have a face-to-face sit-down with Putin. 'A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace – lasting peace,' he said. There was no immediate response from Russia. Secretary of the NSDC proposed a new meeting with Russia next week. They must stop hiding from decisions. Ceasefire. Prisoner exchanges. Return of children. End to the killings. And a meeting at the level of leaders is needed to truly ensure a lasting peace. Ukraine is ready. — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 19, 2025 Umerov, a former defence minister, was appointed last week as the head of the National Security and Defence Council and tasked with adding more momentum to the negotiations. He headed his country's delegation in two previous rounds of talks in Turkiye earlier this year, which yielded little more than an agreement to exchange prisoners and soldiers' remains. In previous rounds, Russia outlined a list of hardline demands that were not acceptable to Ukraine, calling on it to cede four Ukrainian regions it claims as its own and reject Western military support. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Friday indicated that Moscow agreed with a statement by Zelenskyy that peace efforts needed 'more momentum'. The shift came after United States President Donald Trump, who initially appeared to adopt a conciliatory approach towards Russia after entering office, upped the pressure on Moscow. This week, Trump set a 50-day deadline for Moscow to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine or face '100 percent tariffs' and the prospect of secondary sanctions being imposed on countries that buy Russian oil. He also promised to ramp up arms shipments to the war-battered country. Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the ministry, said on Thursday that Russia would not accept the 'blackmail' of Washington's sanctions ultimatum, and the decision to resume weapons deliveries was a signal to Ukraine to 'abandon the peace process'. Ongoing exchange of fire Kyiv extended its invitation for more talks with Moscow after Russian forces staged a massive drone attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa early on Saturday, killing at least one resident and injuring six others, according to Zelenskyy. Posting on X on Saturday, the Ukrainian president said Russia launched more than 30 missiles and 300 drones during its overnight assault that affected 10 regions of the country. Russia, meanwhile, had to suspend trains for about four hours overnight in the southern Rostov region when it came under a Ukrainian drone attack, which injured one railway worker. On Saturday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that Russian air defence systems shot down three drones en route to the city. Two Moscow airports – Vnukovo and Domodedovo – suspended arrivals and departures for safety reasons, but later resumed operations, Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said. The Russian Defence Ministry said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 27 Ukrainian drones in total from 3pm to 7pm Moscow time (12:00-16:00 GMT). Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II, with estimates suggesting 1.2 million people have been wounded or killed.
