Donald Trump wants Ukraine and Russia to agree on ceasefire by Easter Sunday - as his envoy says super-smart Putin is not a bad guy
Donald Trump wants Russia and Ukraine to agree a ceasefire by Easter Sunday, following the resumption of peace talks yesterday.
Donald Trump wants Russia and Ukraine to agree a ceasefire by Easter Sunday, following the resumption of peace talks yesterday.
The religious festival falls on the same date in the Western and Orthodox church calendars this year, adding to the significance of the date.
That means the US has just under a month to achieve a truce before Sunday, April 20. The timetable was revealed as negotiations began again yesterday in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh.
It also followed a night of intense Russian bombing of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
The dead included a five-year-old and the wounded an 11-month-old baby.
Since peace talks began Russia has appeared intent on dragging out the process and yesterday was no different. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov predicted that negotiations would prove ‘difficult’.
Ukraine’s defence minister Rustem Umerov said yesterday they were ‘working through complex technical issues. Our delegation includes energy experts as well as military representatives.’
The next stage is expected to centre on safe passage for vessels through the Black Sea.
Donald Trump wants Russia and Ukraine to agree a ceasefire by Easter Sunday, following the resumption of peace talks yesterday
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov (pictured) predicted that negotiations would prove ‘difficult’
Any negotiations on a ceasefire deal are expected to be complex and difficult
In Riyadh, US officials will meet separately with Russian and Ukrainian representatives over the next few days. Discussions are expected to include how to monitor a 30-day truce on strikes against energy sites that was agreed last week.
It came as leading British political figures pronounced the end of the Special Relationship between the US and the UK.
Former defence minister Tobias Ellwood said the UK could no longer rely on America for support against Putin. And Lib Dem defence spokesman Mike Martin said the British strategy of bridging the gap between the US and Europe was ‘in tatters’.
They spoke out after President Trump’s peace envoy Steve Witkoff said he ‘liked’ Russian president Putin. Witkoff also dismissed the UK-led bid to support Ukraine as ‘a posture and a pose’.
Mr Ellwood said: ‘Witkoff continues to promote the White House’s pro-Russian stance. That tells Europe we can no longer rely on our closest security ally.’ Shadow Armed Forces minister Mark Francois added:
‘If a ceasefire is what the US really desires they may find credible threats of more sanctions on Russia are more effective than compliments.’
Discussions are expected to include how to monitor a 30-day truce on strikes against energy sites that was agreed last week
Mr Witkoff, a former real estate lawyer, had no diplomatic experience before being chosen by Mr Trump as Special Envoy to the Middle East in November 2024.
In the interview, he could not remember the names of specific provinces in eastern Ukraine where the fighting has been most intense, saying: ‘I don’t regard Putin as a bad guy. He’s super-smart.
The largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions, Donbas, Crimea . . . you know the names and there are two others.’
In another development, Sir Keir Starmer said he came under White House pressure to criticise Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian president’s disastrous meeting with Mr Trump in the Oval Office last month.
However, he added that he has a good relationship with Mr Trump and understands ‘what he is trying to achieve’.