Quotes
Zelensky has passed the test of wanting peace. It is now up to Putin to show his card."
Speaking about the Ukrainian President, Republican Mr Graham said
If they do not pursue the ceasefire with the same vigour as Ukraine, there will be hell to pay."
He added
We've got some conversations that are happening on the phone and in person and in person with some of our representatives over the next couple of days,
said Vance, who also tangled with Zelensky
If the US can do this to us, their closest friend and ally, then nobody is safe,
she told reporters before heading to Charlevoix
We're going to be focused on the G7,
Rubio said as his plane stopped in Ireland on route to CanadaOur obligation is to try, to the extent possible, to not allow the things we work on together to be impacted negatively by the things we disagree on right now,
Rubio told reporters on his way to Saudi ArabiaNow we all eagerly await the Russian response,
Rubio told reportersThe fact that Putin has still not achieved his war aims in Ukraine is due first and foremost to the courage of the Ukrainians, but it is also thanks to the united support of the G7."
Quote from Baerbock
We will do more to promote our security and defence in Europe in the future. After all, a new age of ruthlessness has dawned. A time when those around the world who do not share our values, who do not want peace, who believe only in the law of the strong, are watching very closely to see whether we are able to maintain our unity and rules-based order."
Quote from BaerbockTrump is likely to find that Putin believes he now has the upper hand in relations with the US because of his sense that the west has lost its dominance in global affairs.”
As John Lough, an associate fellow at Chatham House, wrote presciently last year
Russian exports to the US dropped by more than 80% last year, compared to the prewar period, to about $3bn, the lowest since 1992. The only damaging banking sanctions the US can swiftly impose would be the end of an exception from the existing measures, which allows some Russian banks to receive payments for energy exports.”
As Alexander Kolyandr of the Center for European Policy Analysis saidSo yes, we are in favour of a truce with both hands, but we need at least framework guarantees and at least from the United States,
the source saidIt certainly is not impossible that the Russians would accept this,
Samuel Charap, a Russia analyst at the RAND Corporation, said of the 30-day offer
Ukraine should be first to commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow
CriticallyEver since the Oval Office catastrophe, the aim has been to put Putin in the spotlight, and to make Trump realise Putin is not his ally, but instead is who we say he is.”
One European diplomat said
This was the wrong approach, wrong time in history, and definitely the wrong president to try to do this. What we need to hear from President Zelenskyy is that he regrets what happened, that he’s ready to sign this minerals deal, and that he’s ready to engage in peace talks.”
The national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said of the Oval Office showdown
Such a truce on air, sea and energy infrastructure would allow us to determine whether Vladimir Putin is acting in good faith when he commits to a truce. And that’s when real peace negotiations could start.”
In a separate interview, the French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, for the first time laid out the strategic thinkingAll I can say is this: he might have broken deals with Obama and Bush, and he might have broken them with Biden … but he didn‘t break them with me, ... He wants to make a deal.”
But he also spelled out his trust in Putin, a judgment of the man’s character that few in western Europe share ... Trump said, addingIn the event of a ceasefire, it would be very difficult to verify [a truce] along the front was being respected
he saidYou are not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now. With us you start to have cards. You are gambling with the lives of millions of people.”
Those that