President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine noted that the Ukrainian side is not 100 percent aware of what was discussed in Moscow during negotiations involving special representative Steve Witkoff.
The president made the comment during a briefing on Saturday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“What happened in Moscow … We can’t be one hundred percent sure about what these people have been talking about. But we understand that there will be many different ‘buts’ to put Ukraine in a weaker position. And here the U.S. stance is very important: if it’s complete ceasefire, there can be no ‘buts,’” the head of state said.
He noted that a representative of the U.S. negotiation team has already met with the Russian side. In the near future, coordination efforts will be made by the U.S. and Ukraine.
“We have agreed on how we see it. I understand that there is a U.S. representative who met with the Russians. I think they spoke about something and coordinated certain positions. Let’s see what happens next,” Zelensky said.
The head of state stressed that the Ukrainian side is very much hopeful for the tough position of the U.S. President in the event of Russia’s refusal to cease hostilities.
“In the coming days we will coordinate with the United States our next steps. We really believe that if the Russians do not agree with the proposal, then Trump’s position will be clear, firm, and straightforward toward Putin,” the president said.
As Ukrinform reported, on Tuesday, the U.S. and Ukrainian delegations met for talks in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). The parties issued a joint statement following the meeting.
The document states that Ukraine expressed its readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to immediately introduce a temporary, 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual consent of the warring parties, provided that it is accepted and simultaneously implemented by the Russian Federation.
On March 13, US President Special Representative Steve Witkoff visited Moscow, where he met with Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin says Putin had sent Trump “additional information and additional signals” through Witkoff.
