Ukrainian President Zelenskyy suggests another round of discussions for peace with Russia

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced plans for a new round of peace negotiations with Russia next week, as reported on Saturday.

In a video message shared on X, Zelenskyy stressed the urgency of accelerating negotiations for lasting peace, advocating for a meeting at the leader level and expressing Ukraine’s openness to such an engagement.

Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s newly appointed Secretary of National Security and Defence, was responsible for extending an invitation to Moscow, according to Zelenskyy. Umerov previously led the negotiating team in talks held in Istanbul last month.

The previous negotiations in June did not result in a ceasefire agreement but did lead to a new exchange of prisoners of war.

The initial round of negotiations on 16 May also ended with a prisoner exchange, marking the largest exchange to date, yet it did not contribute to halting Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In his video Zelenskyy also called on Western allies to strengthen their sanctions against Russia.

“It’s crucial that the new EU sanctions package receives support from other free European nations not part of the European Union,” Zelenskyy emphasized.

“Additionally, we are actively working on the American front, with agreements with President Trump that must be swiftly implemented,” he noted.

Shortly before Zelenskyy’s announcement, the EU implemented new sanctions against Russia, targeting its oil sector and banking institutions, marking the 18th round of EU sanctions since February 2022.

Earlier this month, the US President also threatened to impose stricter sanctions on Russia unless a peace deal was reached within 50 days.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump portrayed this threat as a response to Russia’s intense military actions against Ukraine, urging both parties to engage in talks immediately. “To Russia and Ukraine, come to the table now, before it’s too late. Thank you,” the US president stated.