"Want to end war but not sure if Russia is ready": Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Pic/AFP

Following calls with US President Donald Trump and other European leaders on the potential ceasefire talks with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday (local time) voiced his uncertainty about Russia's readiness to commit to a ceasefire, citing a lack of trust in Moscow's intentions.

Zelenskyy highlighted Ukraine's willingness to pursue a full ceasefire without preconditions, a proposal initially put forward by US President Donald Trump, while emphasising the need for Russia to demonstrate genuine commitment through concrete actions.

"I don't know the principles from the Russian side. As I understood from our dialogue with US President Trump, the Russian side wants to send us a memo on how they see the principles, and they want to see not only a ceasefire; they want some more principles," Zelenskyy stated.

"I really count on it that everybody is very interested in a ceasefire. Too many losses; we really want to finish this war. I'm not sure that Russia is ready and we don't trust them. And that's what we want from them: a ceasefire, at the first step, to show that they're really ready to stop the war," he added.

The Ukrainian President also underscored his consistent communication with international partners, saying, "I always share with all our partners, with the United States, with Europeans... I was very happy when President Trump proposed a full ceasefire without any conditions or preconditions. We've been ready for this. So these are our principles: ceasefire and then other steps, an exchange of prisoners."

Zelenskyy's remarks follow his engagement in a call with Trump and European leaders, during which he reaffirmed Ukraine's readiness for direct negotiations with Russia.

This development follows after US President Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine would "immediately" begin negotiations toward a ceasefire and a potential end to the ongoing war, with the Vatican offering to host the talks after the recent failure of ceasefire talks in Istanbul, despite the agreement to exchange prisoners between the two nations.

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