US President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, of “devastating” sanctions if Moscow refused a deal on a ceasefire in the Ukraine war.
Speaking after a meeting with Ireland Prime Minister Micheal Martin at the White House, Trump said that US negotiators are headed to Russia “right now” for talks on a possible ceasefire with Ukraine, a day after Kyiv agreed to a 30-day truce. He, however, did not give details.
The White House later said that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was going to Moscow later this week.
“We could do things very bad for Russia. It would be devastating for Russia. But I don’t want to do that because I want to see peace, and we’re getting close to maybe getting something done,” Trump told reporters.
“People are going to Russia right now as we speak. And hopefully, we can get a ceasefire from Russia. And if we do, I think that would be 80 percent of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath finished,” he said while speaking about the three-year war.
Trump’s warning came two weeks after his explosive spat with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House over the US’s stance on the war.
He later also halted military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine but resumed after Kyiv agreed to the truce proposal on Tuesday.
Zelensky On Ukraine Ceasefire Proposal
After US and Ukrainian officials concluded talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Volodymyr Zelensky backed the ceasefire proposal but said that Washington needed to persuade Russia to accept it.
“Ukraine welcomes this proposal, we consider it positive, we are ready to take such a step. The United States of America has to convince Russia to do this,” he said.
“So we agree, and if the Russians agree, the ceasefire will work at that very moment,” the Ukrainian leader added.
Later, he told reporters that Ukrainians had no confidence that fighting would stop. “I have emphasized this many times: none of us trust the Russians.”
“Everything depends on whether Russia wants a ceasefire and silence, or it wants to continue killing people,” he added.
(With agency inputs)
