Source : the age
By Tom Balmforth
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland held a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Saturday to a proposal for an unconditional ceasefire in the war with Russia.
In a statement on X, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said his country and its allies were ready for a full ceasefire on land, air and at sea for at least 30 days, starting from Monday.
He described the phone call with Trump as “productive”.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz meet onboard a train en route to Kyiv.Credit: Getty Images
The visit by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was the first time the leaders of the four countries had travelled together to Ukraine. Their meeting was intended to be a show of unity a day after Russia’s Vladimir Putin hosted his allies in a Victory Day parade on Red Square.
If the ceasefire offer is refused by Moscow, Europe and the US could impose new sanctions, a French diplomatic source said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace,” the four European leaders said in a joint statement.
Putin hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders at a Red Square military parade on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, sending a defiant message that he is not isolated.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) talks to Chinese President Xi Jinping during the parade in Moscow on Friday.Credit: AP
The only leader of a European Union country to attend the elaborate military parade – Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico – hit out at his EU colleagues on Friday after they closed their airspace to make it difficult for him to get to the event.
Fico, who broke ranks with the EU by visiting Moscow late last year, arrived in Russia after a circuitous journey made necessary by Lithuania and other Baltic nations barring his aircraft from their airspace.
He met Putin in the Kremlin late on Friday evening after the parade and said his country wanted to develop relations with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Slovakia’s Prime Minister, Robert Fico, at the Kremlin on Friday.Credit: AP
Russian news agencies quoted Fico as telling Putin he opposed the creation of any new “iron curtain and pledge to do everything so that we can shake hands across a curtain”.
“Let us consider as a childish joke all the technical problems we confronted, created by our European Union colleagues.”
Putin said Russia appreciated Fico’s decision to attend despite the “logistical obstacles that were created. But you are nonetheless here.”
The visit to Ukraine on Saturday by its European allies comes at an unpredictable diplomatic moment in Russia’s more than three-year-long war against Ukraine. Trump has been pushing for a rapid peace after tearing up the policies of his predecessor since entering the White House in January.
After engaging directly with Russian officials, clashing publicly with Zelensky and briefly cutting vital military aid to Ukraine, the Trump administration has patched up ties with Kyiv and signed an arduously negotiated minerals deal.
There has also been a palpable shift in tone from Trump, who has signalled growing frustration with Putin’s foot-dragging over a ceasefire and Russia’s restatement of its demands for a settlement.
Cossacks attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on Friday.Credit: AP
Trump has threatened to step up sanctions against Russia, but he has also said he could abandon the peace effort if there is no breakthrough. He called on Thursday for a 30-day ceasefire, and Zelensky said he would be ready to implement it immediately.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Friday that Russia supports the implementation of a 30-day ceasefire in the conflict, but only with due consideration of “nuances”.
On the eve of the summit, the US embassy in Kyiv warned of a “potentially significant” air attack in coming days and told its citizens to be ready to seek shelter in the event of air-raid sirens.
The four foreign leaders will meet Zelensky on Saturday morning (local time) and are expected to pay their respects at a memorial in central Kyiv to honour Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war.
