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Zelensky: More momentum is needed in peace negotiations
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that “more momentum” was needed in peace talks with Russia, adding that he had asked the new secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, to “intensify the negotiation process,” Reuters reported.
Two rounds of talks between Ukraine and Russia, which took place in Turkey earlier this year, resulted in only an agreement on the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of killed soldiers. No date has been set for a new round of talks.
“The implementation of the agreements of the second Istanbul summit is underway. This process needs more momentum,” Zelensky wrote on X.
Russia, which is waging a fierce offensive along much of the eastern front, has repeatedly said it is ready for a new round of negotiations, but has not given up on what Kiev and its allies describe as its ultimate war goals.
US President Donald Trump, who has toughened his tone against Russia in recent weeks amid escalating air strikes on Ukrainian cities, threatened earlier this week with tougher sanctions against Russia if a peace deal is not reached within 50 days.
Umerov also tasked with handling arms from allies
Zelensky said on Friday that he would appoint Umerov, who until Thursday’s major government reshuffle served as defense minister, to also work on arms deals with Kiev’s allies.
Kiev, which still relies on Western partners for more than half of its battlefield supplies, hopes that an expanded domestic defense industry will help repel a larger and better-armed Russian war machine.
“We must fully implement all agreements with our partners on the supply of weapons,” Zelensky wrote, “as well as new special agreements on the establishment of joint production and construction facilities on the territories of partners.”
Source: hotnews.com
