Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States’ position on the Russia–Ukraine war is reaching a point where an “immediate cease-fire” can be declared between the two sides, according to the State Department.
Lammy is scheduled to host European delegations in London on May 12 for discussions on Ukraine and European security initiatives.
The European leaders over the past weekend joined Zelenskyy in demanding a 30-day cease-fire from May 12, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin to make a counterproposal to instead hold the first direct Ukraine–Russia talks since the early months of the 2022 invasion.
The calls come as U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on May 11 that he has doubts that Ukraine will reach a deal to end the conflict with Russia and called on top Ukrainian officials to negotiate with Russian officials in Turkey soon.
The meeting would mean that the United States, Europe, and the two countries at war would then be “able to determine whether or not a deal is possible,” he said.
“And if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!” the president said in his post.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said in a post on X that he was ready to meet Putin in Turkey on May 15, after Trump told him publicly to immediately accept the Kremlin leader’s proposal of direct talks.
Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of cease-fire violations during the three-day period between May 8 and May 10, which Russia declared as a cease-fire to mark the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II.
Ukraine’s military, in its account late on May 9 of battlefield operations, said 162 armed clashes had been recorded over the past 24 hours, with the Kremlin cease-fire formally in effect, along with 22 air strikes and 956 drone attacks. Meanwhile, a Russian Defense Ministry account said it had registered four attempts by Ukrainian forces to break through the border into the Kursk and Belgorod regions.
