Making his first comment on the United State’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in the Ukraine war, Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday thanked President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for devoting time to the issue.
“First of all, I would like to start with words of gratitude to the president of the United States, Mr Trump, for paying so much attention to the Ukraine settlement.
“All of us have lots on our plates, but many state leaders, the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China, the Prime Minister of India, president of Brazil and South African Republic. They devote a lot of time to this issue, and we are thankful to them because it’s all for the noble cause of stopping hostilities and preventing human casualties,” Putin was quoted as saying by NDTV.
During a meeting with President Trump at the White House last month, PM Modi stressed that “India is not neutral” on its stand regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“India is not neutral. India is siding with peace. I have already said to President Putin that this is not the era of war. I support the efforts taken by President Trump,” the Prime Minister had said.
Since the Ukraine conflict began in February last year, PM Modi has spoken to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy several times.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of “devastating” financial consequences if his government blocks Ukraine’s call for a ceasefire in the Moscow-Kyiv war, media reports said.
Speaking at the White House, Trump on Wednesday said, “People are going to Russia right now as we speak and hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia and if we do, I think that would be 80 percent of the way to get this horrible blood bath finished.”
Trump has warned Russia of economic sanctions if Putin continues with a military offensive.
However, Putin said that while he was “for” the proposed ceasefire, “there are nuances”, and he had “serious questions” about how it would work.
Trump said Putin’s statement was “promising” but “not complete”.
“He put out a very promising statement but it wasn’t complete,” Trump, who was meeting NATO chief Mark Rutte at the White House, told reporters on being asked about Putin’s remark.
Ukraine on Tuesday agreed to a US proposal for a 30-day general ceasefire with Russia, with Washington in turn promising to lift restrictions on military aid and intelligence sharing, a joint statement by the two sides said.
Following talks in Saudi Arabia, the two sides agreed to conclude “as soon as possible” a deal on Ukrainian minerals, the statement said.
