On the earlier spherical of peace negotiations, Russia’s listing of calls for to finish the conflict included Ukraine conceding important parts of its sovereign territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled a readiness to barter peace with Ukraine, however Moscow will prioritize its objectives, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on July 20.
Talking on state tv on July 20, Peskov stated U.S. President Donald Trump’s generally “harsh” rhetoric has turn into normalized for a lot of the world but additionally highlighted that Trump has reiterated in feedback on Russia that his aim is placing a peace settlement.
“President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his need to convey the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceable conclusion as quickly as attainable. It is a lengthy course of; it requires effort, and it isn’t simple,” Peskov advised state tv reporter Pavel Zarubin.
“The primary factor for us is to attain our objectives. Our objectives are clear.”
Trump spoke to Putin on July 3 about the potential for a cease-fire with Ukraine.
“I didn’t make any progress with him in any respect,” Trump told reporters after the decision.
He stated that he was “not comfortable” in regards to the standing of a possible cease-fire settlement.
Whereas the Pentagon initially acknowledged that it will pause some shipments of weapons to Ukraine whereas conducting a “functionality overview,” Trump ultimately reversed course.
He stated on July 14 that he was taking a more durable position towards Russia and supplied a brand new spherical of navy support to Ukraine, together with Patriot missile protection programs.
Trump additionally stated he would impose one hundred pc “secondary tariffs” on Russia if Putin refused to comply with a cease-fire with Ukraine within the following 50 days. The levies successfully add one other layer of tariffs to any nations that purchase Russian oil and power exports, together with China and India.
On July 18, the European Union agreed to a different spherical of sanctions on Russia, which embrace punitive measures aimed toward Moscow’s power sector.
On July 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a brand new spherical of peace talks with Russia following the 2 rounds held in Turkey earlier in 2025. The preliminary peace negotiations have yielded no progress to date.
“Dialogue with the Russian facet on prisoner exchanges is ongoing—we’re persevering with to implement the agreements reached through the earlier assembly in Istanbul,” Zelenskyy said on July 19 on his official Telegram channel. “Our crew is at the moment engaged on one other change.”
Ukrainian Protection Minister Rustem Umerov, who led the preliminary rounds of negotiations, has prolonged a proposal to Russia for an additional assembly, in accordance with Zelenskyy, who signaled that he wish to meet straight with Putin.
“A gathering on the management degree is important to actually safe peace—a really lasting one. Ukraine is prepared for such a gathering,” he stated.
“The tempo of the negotiations have to be stepped up. We should do all the pieces to attain a ceasefire. And the Russian facet should cease avoiding selections.”
In the course of the earlier spherical of talks in June, Moscow insisted on an inventory of hardline calls for to finish the conflict, together with Ukraine surrendering 4 southeastern provinces the place Russian forces have maintained partial management.
These land concessions, not together with Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, would equal roughly 15 p.c of what Ukraine describes as its sovereign territory.
Adam Morrow, Emel Akan, Frank Fang, Invoice Pan, and Reuters contributed to this report.
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