Zelensky says only US can persuade Russia to end Ukraine war
The president says Washington proposed first face-to-face talks between Kyiv and Moscow, but he expressed scepticism that this would help
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday called on the United States to put more pressure on Russia to end the war, as diplomats converged on Miami for fresh talks.
Zelensky also said that Washington had proposed the first face-to-face negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in half a year, but later expressed scepticism that that would help.
Zelensky said that only the US was capable of persuading Russia to end the war, and he called on Washington to increase pressure on Moscow to make that happen.
“America must clearly say: if not diplomacy, then there will be full pressure … Putin does not yet feel the kind of pressure that should exist,” he said, stressing the need for more arms supplies to Ukraine and sanctions on the entire Russian economy.
The Ukrainian leader’s comments in Kyiv came as Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev arrived in Miami where Ukrainian and European teams have also gathered for the negotiations, mediated by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Dmitriev wrote in a social media post that he was “on the way to Miami”, adding a peace dove emoji and attaching a short video of a morning sun shining through clouds on a beach with palms.