Russia has accepted Donald Trump's request to refrain from attacks until Sunday, February 1, "in order to create favorable conditions for peace negotiations."
But the halt in attacks only concerns the capital, Kiev , Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified. Peskov said that Trump personally approached Vladimir Putin, asking him to refrain from launching attacks on Kiev for a week, until Sunday, February 1, the day negotiations in Abu Dhabi will resume. Putin agreed.
The truce, therefore, the spokesman implied, would have already been in force since last Monday .
Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, has categorically rejected the possibility of meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and has publicly invited the Kremlin leader to Kiev . "Of course, meeting Putin in Moscow is impossible for me. It would be like meeting Putin in Kiev. I can also invite him to Kiev, let him come. I will invite him publicly, if he has the courage, of course."
The Ukrainian president has stated that he is willing to compromise to end the war, but the territorial issue remains taboo. Donetsk remains untouched: "We believe that the harsh demands imposed on Ukraine are clearly not a compromise. This is a violation of our territorial integrity." For Zelensky, "the least problematic situation is for Ukraine and Russian troops to remain where they are."
(Unioneonline/L)