Trump Announces 'Energy Ceasefire' Between Russia And Ukraine, Urges Both Sides Not To Break It
This comes in the wake of Trump's energy deal with Russia, in which Washington will import of millions of tons of Russian diesel to ease domestic fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections in November.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, told Axios that he himself was not involved in negotiations.
“If President Trump negotiated it with Putin, please tell us when the ceasefire begins. We are ready, and we will accept it,” Zelensky told Axios. He said the announcement was“news for me”.
Trump on Saturday also urged Ukraine to get a new president, saying that Zelensky should be replaced by a leader that will settle the war.
Tensions flared between Trump and Zelensky over Trump's announcement of the fuel deal with Russia, and the Ukrainian President pushed back on Sunday against his US counterpart's call for him to be replaced.
Zelensky said that Ukraine would hold a presidential election if Russia promised a ceasefire of 60 days.
"First of all, with all respect to President Trump, it's up to our society, up to our people to choose one or another leader," Zelensky told ABC News in a televised interview on Sunday.
Zelensky noted the necessity of continued US support and said he hoped the latest dispute would not hurt the "unity" among Ukraine's allies.
"To stop Putin -- and I think this is the main goal, to stop him, this is the main deal, to stop this war... we count on American support," he told ABC News.
"Then, and of course, we count on our European partners, and I hope that we will save this unity, Europe and the United States," he added, noting it was "really not simple."
The ceasefire comes in the wake of Trump asking Ukraine for weeks to stop bombing Russia's oil infrastructure, his reason being that this is leading to increase of oil prices around the world.
The US president has, however, not said anything on how oil prices are being affected due to the US' war with Iran in West Asia.
With agency inputs
This is a developing story. Check back later for more updates.
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