Trump announces three-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia
US president Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia on his Truth Social platform on Friday. The ceasefire is set to take effect on Saturday 9 May and run until Monday 11 May, and includes an exchange of 1,000 prisoners of war from each side.
"Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War," Trump wrote. "Talks are continuing on ending this Major Conflict, the biggest since World War II, and we are getting closer and closer every day."
Earlier on Friday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that he hopes to welcome a US delegation to Ukraine in the coming weeks to restart talks on ending the war. The latest round of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine had reached an impasse, and a potential visit by the US is seen as a way to revive the peace process.
"We are coordinating the schedule for the necessary visits and expect representatives of the US president around the transition from spring to summer," Zelensky said, following a meeting in Florida between Ukrainian envoy Rustem Omerov and US negotiators. "We hope that this time we will succeed in implementing the plans and getting diplomacy back on track."
The United States has been positioning itself as a mediator in the conflict, seeking to bring Russia and Ukraine together for both direct and indirect talks. Recent rounds of negotiations have yielded little beyond prisoner exchanges, and have been suspended since the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
PHOTO © Jim WATSON / AFP
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