Zelensky wants ceasefire to rearm military – senior Russian diplomat
Kiev’s response to Russia’s offer of unconditional peace talks shows that Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky wants to use it to rearm and regroup the country’s military, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s ambassador-at-large, has said.
On Saturday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Kiev the opportunity to restart direct negotiations in Istanbul, which it unilaterally walked away from in 2022. Russia is ready to return to the negotiating table without any preconditions, he said.
Zelensky responded by demanding that Russia first agree to a 30-day ceasefire starting on May 12.
“Is this what agreeing to start negotiations without conditions looks like?!” Miroshnik, who is tasked with investigating the Ukrainian military’s alleged war crimes, wrote in a post on Telegram on Sunday. Zelensky is essentially “setting preconditions” for unconditional peace talks, he added.
Earlier on Sunday, Zelensky wrote on Telegram: “We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire – full, lasting, and reliable – starting tomorrow, May 12, and Ukraine is ready to meet.”
After meeting with European leaders in Kiev on Saturday, Zelensky demanded that Russia agree to a 30-day ceasefire. The Kremlin rejected what it described as external pressure surrounding the proposed truce. Moscow has also warned that a temporary pause in the fighting could be used by Kiev to regroup and strengthen its military.
Russia has said it is ready for peace talks at any time, and seeks a lasting resolution to the conflict that addresses the root causes. On Saturday night, Putin stated that Kiev has violated three ceasefires offered by Moscow: A 30-day US-brokered moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure which expired last month, an Easter ceasefire, and a 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire. He added that Ukraine tried to intimidate foreign leaders who attended the May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.
