All eyes on US officials’ trip to Russia for Ukraine meeting

President Donald Trump said US officials were heading to Russia on Wednesday to discuss a US-Ukraine agreement on a proposed 30-day pause in fighting and a pathway to peace talks.

Trump said it was now up to Russia after Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire during more than eight hours of talks on Tuesday with US officials in Saudi Arabia.

“Hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“I’ve gotten some positive messages, but a positive message means nothing. This is a very serious situation.”

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it was awaiting details from Washington about a proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, while senior Moscow sources said a deal would have to take account of Russia’s advances and address its concerns.

Trump said a ceasefire would make sense for Russia but said there was “a lot of downside for Russia too,” without elaborating.

“We have a very complex situation solved on one side, pretty much solved. We’ve also discussed land and other things that go with it,” he said.

“We know the areas of land we’re talking about, whether it’s pull back or not pull back.”

Asked if he would do anything to pressure Russia, Trump said: “I can do things financially, that would be very bad for Russia. I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace.”

The United States said on Wednesday it was asking Russia to “unconditionally” agree to a month-long ceasefire in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had shown it was ready to embrace the deal to halt the fighting and that the United States had indicated it would issue a “strong” response if the Kremlin refused.

US arms deliveries to Ukraine resumed on Wednesday, officials said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it’s important not to “get ahead” of the question of responding to the ceasefire.

He told reporters that Moscow is awaiting “detailed information” from the US and suggested that Russia must get that before it can take a position.

The Kremlin has previously opposed anything short of a permanent end to the conflict and has not accepted any concessions.

The Council of Europe on Wednesday published a 10-point roadmap for a “lasting and effective peace” in Ukraine, calling for human rights to be central to talks to end the fighting.

The Strasbourg-based Council, which monitors human rights and democracy on the continent, said rights had been “sidelined” in the recent geopolitical shifts and retreat from multilateralism.

“Ignoring human rights today means undermining peace tomorrow,” said Human Rights Commissioner Michael O’Flaherty.

Agencies