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Agence France-Presse

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday accused Russia of delaying peace talks in a bid to press on with its three-year invasion, even as US President Donald Trump pushes for an immediate ceasefire.
Trump spoke by phone on Monday with Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, while Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Istanbul on Friday for their first direct talks on the conflict in more than three years.
But they failed to yield a truce, and Zelensky accused Putin of sending “empty heads” to the negotiating table.
“It is obvious that Russia is trying to buy time to continue its war and occupation,” Zelensky said in a social media post.
Trump framed his two-hour conversation with Putin, the third so far this year, as a breakthrough.
The Republican is seeking an elusive deal to end the war that he had promised on the campaign trail to solve in 24 hours.
But Putin again rebuffed the call for a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire, instead saying only that he was ready to work with Ukraine on a “memorandum” outlining a possible road map and different positions on ending the war.

Moscow is feeling confident with its troops advancing on the battlefield and Trump having resumed dialogue with Putin after almost three years of the West shunning the Kremlin chief.
“The memorandum buys time for Russia,” Russian political analyst Konstantin Kalachev said, adding “the cessation of hostilities is not a condition for it, which means that Russia can continue its offensive”.
Zelensky said on Monday he had no details of what this “memorandum” would be, but was willing to look at Russia’s ideas.
On a rainy morning in Moscow, some were sceptical about the prospect of any progress.
“I don’t think anything will come of it,” said Anastasiya, 40, a freelancer, “they want to cheat us as usual”.
“I believe that we don’t need these negotiations, we will win anyway,” said Marina, 70, a retired woman who used to work as an engineer.
Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius said the call between the two leaders showed Putin was not “genuinely interested in peace”.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and has since destroyed swathes of the country’s east, killed tens of thousands and now controls around one-fifth of its territory.
Ukraine and Europe are trying to put pressure on Trump to hit Moscow with a new package of massive sanctions after Putin refused to travel to Turkey for face-to-face talks with Zelensky.
“Ukraine is ready for any negotiation format that delivers results. And if Russia continues to put forward unrealistic conditions and undermine progress, there must be tough consequences,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Kyiv accused Moscow’s negotiators of making unrealistic demands at the Istanbul talks, including sweeping territorial claims that Ukraine has repeatedly rejected.
“America said that if Russia doesn’t agree on an unconditional ceasefire, then there are going to be consequences. So we want to see those consequences, also from the US side,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told ministers in Brussels.
Zelensky said on Monday that Kyiv and its allies needed to “work hard” to convince Trump of the need for more sanctions.
“Banking and energy sanctions from America will greatly determine whether Putin and the Russian army will continue to profit from this war or not,” he said.
The EU on Tuesday formally adopted its 17th round of sanctions on Moscow, targeting 200 vessels of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, and drawing ire from Russia.
“Western politicians and the media are making titanic efforts to disrupt the constructive dialogue between Russia and the United States,” said Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund and lead economic negotiator with the United States.
Putin has revelled in Russia’s ability to withstand sanctions, with Moscow having diverted its vital oil and gas supplies to India and China.
Russia’s key ally China also on Tuesday said it backed direct dialogue between the warring sides.
“It is hoped that the parties concerned will carry on with the dialogue … to reach a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement acceptable to all parties,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.


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Ukraine war

Ukraine war: Zelensky accuses Russia of ‘trying to buy time’ to continue conflict

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the media during a press briefing after his phone call with the US president, in Kyiv, on Monday. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump, left, spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in an effort to obtain a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine. Photo: TNS

Members of a mobile air defence volunteer unit stand next to their machine gun during a massive Russian drone strike in Kyiv region, Ukraine. Photo: Reuters

After Putin call, Trump says Russia and Ukraine to negotiate ceasefire ‘immediately’

US President Donald Trump (left) held a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss hopes for ceasefire progress in the Ukraine war. Photo: AFP

Firefighters at the site of a private enterprise hit by a Russian drone strike, outside of Kyiv, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Destroyed Russian tanks and other vehicles displayed in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting at the Vatican in April. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: RIA Novosti via Reuters

Trump hints at meeting Russia’s Putin to ‘make a deal’ on Ukraine war

US President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn upon arrival at the White House on Friday. Photo: AP 

Ukraine Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya (left), flanked by Ukraine’s top negotiator and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, speaks to journalists after a meeting with the Russian delegates in Istanbul on Friday. Photo: AFP

(From left) Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron and Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a Ukraine security meeting at the European Political Community summit in Albania on Friday. Photo: AP

Ex-US ambassador to Ukraine says she quit because of Trump ‘appeasement’

US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink (left) joins then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to tour a bunker at a State Border Guard of Ukraine Detached Commandant Office of Security and Resource Supply site in Kyiv Oblast in September 2023. Photo: AFP

Trump ‘starting to doubt’ that Ukraine will reach deal with Russia

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer (centre), France’s President Emmanuel Macron (right) and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) speak after laying bouquets of flowers as they visit the Wall of Heroes of the Nation, a memorial wall of fallen Ukrainian servicemen, in Kyiv on Saturday. Photo: AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands during a joint press conference after their meeting in Kyiv on Saturday. Photo: AFP

A Ukrainian crew fires a round from a tank during a field training exercise at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on April 30. Photo: AFP

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The accusation comes a day after US President Donald Trump spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Zelensky urging the two to begin ceasefire negotiations


The accusation comes a day after US President Donald Trump spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Zelensky urging the two to begin ceasefire negotiations.
