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If the Russian President does not accept the proposal before the day is over, the European countries are ready to tighten the screws.
If the Russian President does not accept the proposal before the day is over, the European countries are ready to tighten the screws.
A hectic weekend
During the weekend, a whirlwind of diplomatic announcements and statements were revealed, ending with the Ukrainian President, Volodomyr Zelenskyy, challenging Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to meet him face-to-face in Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday.
Rejected 30-day ceasefire
During the weekend, Putin had announced a 3-day ceasefire to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the end of WW2. European leaders and Zelenskyy then invited Putin to initiate a 30-day ceasefire and come to the negotiation table. Russia rejected the ceasefire but has not yet rejected meeting in Istanbul.
Top-level meetings coming
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, David Lammy, will host a meeting with his European colleagues Monday. The meeting will also act as a warm-up to the head-of-states-meeting happening next week.
Europe tightens the screws
Stefan Kornelius, spokesperson for the German Government, said at a press conference earlier Monday, that “the clock is ticking”, and that there are 12 hours left of the day (the press conference happened at noon European time). He warned Putin, that if the Russian President has not accepted the ceasefire before the day is done, European countries will begin preparing further sanctions against Russia.
Several Russian attacks
According to spokesperson for the Ukrainian Military, Viktor Trehubov, Russia has attacked Ukraine several times Monday – including a swarm of more than 100 drones targeting Ukraine during the night.
No response from Russia
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybhia, said in a post on X, that “Russians are completely ignoring the offer of a full and durable ceasefire starting on May 12. They continue to attack Ukrainian positions all along the frontline.”
Russia on ultimatum: “Unacceptabel”
Russia has still not responded to the suggestion of a 30-day ceasefire, but following the threats of more sanctions, Russian Spokesperson, Dmitrij Peskov, called the threats unacceptabel, according to Reuters.