Ukraine has approved the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and Washington DC has resumed its military support and sharing of intelligence with Ukraine.
The next step is to get the Russian side to say yes.
At a press conference at the White House, Donald Trump says according to Reuters that he is optimistic about getting a ceasefire:
We have people on their way to Russia right now.
Late on Tuesday, he said that Russian President Vladimir Putin "hopefully" accepts the peace proposal and he himself will "likely" talk to Putin.
He had previously stated that American representatives would meet a Russian delegation as early as Wednesday, without specifying further, but US envoy Steven Witkoff has been reported to travel to Moscow this week.
The Russian power center Kremlin "waits for the US to inform" about the details of the proposal, said spokesperson Dmitrij Peskov on Wednesday.
Source: Unlikely Russian yes
Shortly afterwards, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj commented on the proposal. The ceasefire provides an opportunity to develop a permanent peace plan, he said at a press conference in Kyiv. But:
We will not give up territories occupied by Russia. That is the most important red line.
Zelenskyj expects "powerful measures" from the US if Russia rejects the proposal, reports AFP.
I don't know any details yet, but we're talking about sanctions (against Russia) and strengthening Ukraine.
If Russia says no to the proposal, it's telling, notes US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He says that Europe must be involved in the negotiations about the war, reports AFP.
He also states that Russia must be deterred from future attacks on Ukraine.
Russian government sources tell Reuters that it will be "difficult" for Putin to accept the proposal for a ceasefire in its current form. Russia wants to dictate the terms and "get guarantees", according to one of the anonymous sources. Another says that Moscow sees the proposal as a trap.
"No one talks to us"
Russia will not agree to "a peace that puts lives at risk", claims Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with American bloggers, according to state-controlled Russian Ria.
Moscow will, according to Lavrov, "under no circumstances" accept peacekeeping forces that include soldiers from NATO countries.
No one talks to us. They always say they're not talking about Ukraine without Ukraine, but they're doing everything against Russia without Russia.
