Zelensky says US set deadline for Ukraine-Russia peace deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the United States has set a June deadline for Ukraine and Russia to reach a peace deal, seeking to bring an end to the nearly four-year war.

Should this deadline not be met, the Trump administration is expected to intensify pressure on both parties to secure a resolution, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, in comments embargoed until Saturday morning, Mr Zelenskyy stated: "The Americans are proposing the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer and will probably put pressure on the parties precisely according to this schedule."

He further elaborated on Washington's intentions, adding: "And they say that they want to do everything by June. And they will do everything to end the war. And they want a clear schedule of all events."

In a bid to advance negotiations, the US has proposed hosting the next round of trilateral talks on its soil for the first time, likely in Miami. Kyiv has confirmed its participation in these discussions.

This latest diplomatic push follows unsuccessful US-brokered discussions in Abu Dhabi, which yielded no breakthrough due to the belligerents' "mutually exclusive demands."

Russia continues to insist on Ukraine's withdrawal from the fiercely contested Donbas region, a condition Kyiv has unequivocally rejected.

Zelensky’s statement comes after he claimed earlier this week that 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since the start of the war with Russia.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli