Zelensky proposes talks with Russia, Putin is ready
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country has proposed a new round of peace talks with Russia, a move that he said was aimed at restarting talks that had stalled last month.
Speaking in a speech late Saturday (July 19) local time, Zelensky said Ukraine’s top security official Rustam Umerov had proposed a meeting with Russian representatives next week.
“We must make every effort to achieve a ceasefire,” he added.
Zelensky also reiterated his offer of a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “A meeting at the highest level is needed to ensure peace,” he said.
The offer came hours after a series of Russian airstrikes killed three people in Ukraine. Zelensky said early Saturday (July 19) that 10 regions of Ukraine, including several cities, had been hit by Russian airstrikes since Friday night.
The Ukrainian military said Russia used more than 340 drones (including some dummies) and 35 cruise and ballistic missiles. But many of them were destroyed.
After Ukraine’s offer of peace talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “President Putin has repeatedly expressed his interest in resolving the Ukraine issue as quickly as possible, peacefully. This is a long process, not an easy one. And the main thing is to achieve our goals. These goals are clear.”
Peskov’s remarks were broadcast on Russian state television on Sunday. Peskov told television journalist Pavel Zarubin about Trump’s threat of sanctions that the world has become accustomed to hearing Trump’s “tough” rhetoric. However, Trump has also said in his comments on Russia that he will continue to work towards a peace deal.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said that NATO countries would send “the most advanced weapons” to Ukraine. He also warned that if a ceasefire is not reached within 50 days, Russia would be hit with steep tariffs.
Trump also warned that if a peace deal with Ukraine is not reached within his deadline, 100% tariffs would be imposed on Russia’s remaining trading partners.
Moscow and Kiev have held two rounds of talks in Istanbul, but no progress has been made towards a ceasefire. However, a large-scale prisoner exchange and the return of the bodies of killed soldiers have been agreed.
At the talks that ended in early June, Ukrainian negotiators said that Russia had once again rejected the “unconditional ceasefire” proposal—a key demand of Kiev and its Western allies.
Russia has also put forward some of its own conditions, including the withdrawal of more territory from Ukraine and a complete halt to Western military aid.
At the time, Zelensky accused Moscow of “doing everything to thwart the next meeting.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
