I hope that Russia will do the right thing: Trump reacts to Putin’s statement
13 March 21:10
US President Donald Trump expressed hope that Russia would accept the US proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, which was brought to Moscow by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
He said this during a meeting at the White House with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing Sky News.
“I hope Russia will do the right thing,” Trump said, emphasizing that he would like to see a ceasefire on the part of Russia.
The US President also told reporters that his special envoy is having serious discussions with Russia and is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon.
Trump also commented on Putin’s speech at his joint press conference with Lukashenko on Thursday. In this regard, the US president said that the Russian leader made a promising statement, which, however, was not complete. Trump reiterated that he was ready to discuss a ceasefire proposal with Putin.
The US president also did not resort to his usual harsh criticism of NATO and praised Rutte for his role and “fantastic work.”
Earlier, Vladimir Putin said that Moscow agrees with the proposal to end hostilities in Ukraine, but has set conditions, the Russian service of the BBC reports .
“We agree with the proposals to end hostilities, but this proposal should be one that would lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of the war,” Putin said, beginning by thanking US President Donald Trump.
Putin said that Trump is not the only world leader who is paying attention to the conflict in Ukraine and listed the leaders of all five BRICS countries.
Putin also said that Russia supports a 30-day ceasefire in principle, but there are “nuances.”
One of these nuances he called the “situation” of the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region, which he described as “encirclement.” He emphasized that there are many other nuances related to the cessation of hostilities and control over it, and they need to be discussed in detail with the United States.
At the same time, Putin said that he wants guarantees that during the ceasefire Ukraine will not mobilize, train, or receive weapons, and that this should lead to a long-term peace.
Putin also did not rule out discussing the truce with US President Donald Trump.
The world’s reaction:
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said that the temporary ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia should pave the way for a lasting and just peace, Ukrinform reports .
“The ceasefire should be the first step towards a just and lasting peace. By concluding this agreement with the United States, Ukraine has once again demonstrated its desire to end the war as soon as possible and its commitment to a constructive partnership in the pursuit of lasting peace,” Joly said.
She called on Russia to accept the proposed ceasefire and “agree to a lasting peace in which Europe and Ukraine’s global partners have an important role to play.”
“Canada is ready to do its part,” she emphasized.
Joly added that Canada “will continue to support Ukraine and help end the illegal invasion, deter future aggression, and build a future in which Ukraine is safe, stable, and free.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on allies to increase pressure on Moscow and offer Ukraine security guarantees to protect it from the “thinly disguised” ambitions of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, The Guardian reports .
Starmer said that he was not surprised by Russia’s apparent rejection of the US ceasefire proposal.
“I’m not entirely surprised that Russia is taking this position. They have made it quite clear,” the British prime minister said.
According to Starmer, “progress was made” on Tuesday, March 11. The UK prime minister said he hoped that after Tuesday “the ball would be thrown to the Russian court” where pressure would be put on Moscow.
“Now it has happened. This is good because Russia is the aggressor. We know that Putin has ambitions that are barely disguised,” he said, adding that Russia has not honored agreements and arrangements in the past.
When asked about the next steps, Starmer emphasized the need for cooperation with allies, including the United States and Ukraine. He reminded that on Saturday, March 15, he will hold a meeting of a number of leaders “to see what further progress we can make, but a lasting secure peace with Ukraine’s sovereignty and security.”
“But it has to be a peace where the agreement is protected, because we’ve had an agreement before and it wasn’t honored because Russia was just violating the line of contact,” Starmer said.
As a reminder, negotiations between representatives of Ukraine and the United States took place in Saudi Arabia. As a result, the Ukrainian delegation supported the US proposal to establish a complete ceasefire for 30 days along the entire front line. This regime can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, provided that the Russian Federation approves and simultaneously fulfills these conditions.
