Ukraine is ready to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries if Moscow also halts strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
Zelenskyy said any such agreement would require “real guarantees” and repeated Kyiv’s position that a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure must be mutual.
“The real cause of the war in Europe is Russia and Russia alone,” Zelenskyy said. “It’s possible to stop strikes on energy infrastructure as early as today, but Putin does not want to do so.”
Zelenskyy’s comments came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump called for Ukraine to get a new president and criticised Kyiv’s attacks on Russian oil refineries.
Trump said Ukrainian strikes were contributing to higher diesel prices in the U.S. and argued that Zelenskyy had missed opportunities to reach a deal with Moscow.
“I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Trump’s comments followed his announcement of a diesel supply deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy criticised the agreement, saying that easing pressure on Moscow could encourage further Russian attacks.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul restated Berlin's support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday following Trump's call for his removal and urged more pressure to be put on Russia to resume peace talks.
Wadephul said Germany remained by the side of Ukraine and its government “and fully support the President as he carries out his difficult duties.”
He made the comment at a leadership meeting of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU).
Germany, the biggest European donor to Ukraine, said on Saturday it would maintain sanctions against Russia despite Trump's announcement that his administration had temporarily lifted U.S. sanctions on Russian fuel.
Wadephul, who met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month, said “consistency and clarity” were needed to support Ukraine and bring Moscow to negotiate.
“We don't need less pressure, we need more pressure on Putin to make him be ready to negotiate,” Wadephul said. “That is what this moment requires and that's what the government stands for.”
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke with Zelenskyy on Saturday and told him the UK would continue to strengthen its sanctions on Russia, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
The dispute comes as Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure continue and Kyiv says it needs more air defence support.
Zelenskyy said he would continue discussions with European leaders, with daily talks focused on additional air defence packages and ammunition for aircraft used against Russia’s jet-powered drones.
The latest Russian attacks have also intensified pressure on Ukrainian cities and their energy systems ahead of winter.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian and European officials have been holding talks with U.S. negotiators on possible proposals to end the war. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is due to attend an European Union Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Monday, where ministers are expected to discuss additional sanctions on Russia and Ukraine’s EU accession process.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered Iran's armed forces to respond to any threat immediately and without geographical li...
A tenth-grade student was critically injured after a man attacked her with a chainsaw inside a classroom in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur distri...
Cryptocurrencies are volatile, and their crashes make headlines. But does a slump in digital coins ever spill over into the pounds, dollars and eur...
The Middle East conflict remains tense as diplomatic efforts continue alongside renewed Houthi attacks. Iran says it remains open to mediation, while the Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the kingdom.
Evacuations and the provision of humanitarian aid in the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky have begun, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday. In a statement on Telegram, David Arakhamia said a six-day ceasefire was holding, and that more details would follow.
Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday as part of efforts to reach a deal between the U.S. and Iran, according to an official briefed on the talks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia remains willing to rebuild relations with European countries but warned that any wider conflict on the continent would leave no winners, as he commented on recent diplomatic contacts with Nordic leaders and growing security concerns in the Baltic region.
Hackers have pulled off a staggering $6.3 billion cryptocurrency heist targeting Binance, shaking confidence in one of the world's biggest digital asset exchanges and sending crypto prices tumbling. U.S. analysts suspect North Korea was behind the attack.
A tenth-grade student was critically injured after a man attacked her with a chainsaw inside a classroom in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district. The girl suffered severe injuries to her head, neck and back, while a classmate who tried to protect her was also hurt.
Deep divisions over Russia's war in Ukraine overshadowed a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta on Friday, as European officials criticised Moscow's participation and refused to join a traditional group photograph with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The U.S. has approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth an estimated $2.1 billion, but Kyiv could face years of delays before receiving the weapons it urgently needs to defend against intensifying Russian attacks.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global body responsible for monitoring money laundering and terrorist financing risks, has removed four countries from its so-called “grey list” after determining they had made sufficient progress in addressing weaknesses in their financial cr
The death toll from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 5,000, according to government figures released on Friday, as health authorities continue to struggle to contain the country's worst-ever Ebola epidemic.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment