Washington - Saba:
The White House believes that the chances of reaching a peace agreement in Ukraine are closer than they were when US President Donald Trump took office on January 20.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said during a press conference, "We are certainly closer to a peace agreement in Russia and Ukraine today than we were when we took office on January 20."
Earlier on Sunday, US President Donald Trump described demands to return Crimea and other territories to Ukraine to end the conflict as "ridiculous," via Truth Social.
Last Wednesday, Trump criticized Volodymyr Zelensky's "inflammatory" remarks regarding Kyiv's refusal to recognize Crimea as part of Russia, saying they "harm peace negotiations and could prolong the conflict."
Previously, Trump confirmed that the peace agreement currently under discussion includes recognizing Crimea as part of Russia.
The Trump administration is mediating to end the crisis between Russia and Ukraine. In this context, the Saudi city of Jeddah hosted talks between delegations from the United States and Ukraine on March 11. During these talks, Ukraine expressed its willingness to accept a US proposal for an immediate and temporary ceasefire for 30 days, which could be extended by mutual agreement between the parties, provided Russia accepts and simultaneously implements the agreement.
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his approval of a US proposal to cease hostilities in Ukraine.
Putin emphasized that this proposal is only acceptable if it leads to long-term peace and eliminates the root causes of this crisis.
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