Ukraine and its allies on Monday sought to pile strain on Russia to comply with an unconditional truce, with European leaders threatening to instantly impose a brand new spherical of sanctions and President Volodymyr Zelensky difficult President Vladimir V. Putin to fulfill him in Turkey on Thursday.
President Trump raised the stakes, suggesting he would possibly participate in such a gathering — an thought shortly seized on by Mr. Zelensky, the Ukrainian chief, who has been making an attempt to align himself with a U.S. chief who has at occasions appeared hostile to him.
“I supported Donald Trump with the thought of a whole and unconditional cease-fire,” Mr. Zelensky stated in a press release on Monday night time. “I supported President Trump with the thought of direct talks with Putin.”
He added: “In fact, all of us in Ukraine would really like President Trump to be there with us — at this assembly in Turkey. That is the precise thought.”
The Kremlin declined to touch upon whether or not Mr. Putin would take Mr. Zelensky up on his problem, issued on Sunday, to fulfill personally on Thursday, and didn’t instantly reply to the suggestion that Mr. Trump would possibly attend a summit of the three leaders.
However Mr. Trump, talking to reporters on the White Home, picked up on Mr. Zelensky’s proposal, saying, “Don’t underestimate Thursday in Turkey.” He then recommended that he would possibly alter his journey plans, which have him within the Center East that day, and go to Turkey to participate within the assembly, relying on how the hoped-for talks go.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already introduced plans to journey to Turkey this week to attend the casual NATO international ministers assembly scheduled there from Wednesday to Friday.
The statements from Kyiv and Washington have been the newest flip in an more and more frenetic spherical of diplomatic brinkmanship, because the Trump administration grows annoyed by an absence of progress in its efforts to finish the bloodiest battle in Europe in generations.
Earlier Monday, European leaders leaned on Moscow to just accept, by the top of the day, an unconditional 30-day truce that was first proposed by america in early March and instantly accepted by Ukraine, or face one other spherical of punishing sanctions.
“The clock is ticking — we nonetheless have 12 hours till the top of today,” the German authorities spokesman, Stefan Kornelius, stated at a information convention.
The Kremlin spokesman dismissed the menace. “The language of ultimatums is unacceptable — you can’t speak to Russia like this,” the spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, advised Russian information businesses.
Mr. Putin has to date rejected the cease-fire proposal, and over the weekend, he referred to as as a substitute for renewed negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, although not by their leaders. Ukrainian officers, their European allies and even, just lately, Mr. Trump, have questioned whether or not Mr. Putin actually desires to finish the conflict.
The supply to fulfill nose to nose was meant to make it clear that the “the ball is in Moscow’s court docket,” in impact calling Mr. Putin’s bluff, Andriy Yermak, Mr. Zelensky’s chief of employees, advised the Ukrainian information outlet RBC-Ukraine. Kyiv, he stated, is accustomed to the Kremlin’s stalling ways.
“We gained’t give Russia motive to accuse us of sabotaging the peace course of,” Mr. Yermak stated.
Ukraine, together with its European allies, continued to insist on Monday that the combating wanted to cease earlier than critical negotiations may get underway.
President Emmanuel Macron of France stated that Kyiv had proven itself prepared repeatedly to make concessions with the intention to start the laborious work of brokering an enduring peace. “Both Russia — Mr. Putin — is critical and desires peace, or it’s not critical and we now have to impose much more sanctions,” Mr. Macron advised reporters.
Britain’s international secretary, David Lammy, advised reporters in London that it was time for Russia to cease stalling. “That is the time for Vladimir Putin to get critical about peace in Europe, to get critical a few cease-fire, and to get critical about talks,” he stated.
When the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland traveled to Kyiv over the weekend to ship that very same message, they have been cautious to coordinate their efforts with the White Home. They made clear that solely agreeing to an unconditional cease-fire would spare Moscow extra sanctions concentrating on oil exports and banking — and stated that america would additionally impose sanctions on Russia if Mr. Putin didn’t comply with a truce.
Nonetheless, after Mr. Putin made a counteroffer of direct talks with out mentioning a cease-fire, President Trump urged the Ukrainians to attend the assembly. “Ukraine ought to comply with this, IMMEDIATELY,” Mr. Trump wrote on Sunday in a press release on social media.
Mr. Zelensky responded swiftly, seemingly looking for to flip the script on the Russian chief by saying that he agreed to negotiations in any format and that he would journey to Turkey to fulfill with Mr. Putin — personally.
Nataliya Vasilyeva, Christopher F. Schuetze, Aurelien Breeden and Stephen Fort contributed reporting.
