The Japan Times - US envoys head to Moscow on Ukraine ceasefire mission: Trump

The Kremlin said it was awaiting details of a proposal agreed by Ukrainian and US officials this week, and gave no indication of its readiness to stop fighting that has left tens of thousands dead in the past three years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country had shown it was ready to embrace a deal, adding that the United States had indicated it would issue a "strong" response if President Vladimir Putin refuses an accord.

"People are going to Russia right now as we speak. And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia," Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Ireland's prime minister Micheal Martin.

The White House said that Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, a mediator in the Gaza and Ukraine wars, would be in Moscow this week.

Trump did not say whether he would speak with Putin, but added that there had been "positive messages" from Moscow. "I hope he's going to have a ceasefire."

- 'Horrible bloodbath' -

He said that if fighting could be suspended, "I think that would be 80 percent of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath finished."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington wanted Moscow's agreement with no strings attached. "That's what we want to know -- if they're prepared to do it unconditionally," Rubio said on a plane heading to a G7 meeting in Canada.

"If the response is, 'yes', then we know we've made real progress, and there's a real chance of peace. If their response is 'no', it would be highly unfortunate, and it'll make their intentions clear," he added.

Rubio was to give an update on the initiative at the G7 meeting in Charlevoix, Canada.

While the Kremlin made no immediate comment on the US-Ukraine proposal -- which was agreed at a meeting in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday -- the Russian foreign ministry said earlier this month that a temporary ceasefire would be unacceptable.

Trump said he could order "devastating" sanctions against Russia if it refused but added: "I hope that's not going to be necessary."

- 'None of us trust the Russians' -

"I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. I don't want to do that because I want to get peace," Trump said.

The development was the latest dramatic swing in diplomacy swirling around the conflict. It came less than two weeks after Trump kicked Zelensky out of the White House complaining about the Ukrainian leader's attitude to US assistance.

Trump halted military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv but that resumed after Ukraine agreed to the truce proposal on Tuesday.

Trump said earlier he was ready to welcome Zelensky back to the White House and may speak to Putin this week.

In Kyiv, Zelensky said the United States would pile pressure on Moscow if it did not accept the idea.

"I understand that we can count on strong steps. I don't know the details yet but we are talking about sanctions and strengthening Ukraine," Zelensky told reporters.

"Everything depends on whether Russia wants a ceasefire and silence, or it wants to continue killing people," the Ukrainian leader added.

He said there was no faith among Ukrainians that a ceasefire would happen. "I have emphasized this many times, none of us trust the Russians."

Ukraine is increasingly suffering on the battlefield, losing ground in the east and south of the country, where officials said eight people were killed on Wednesday.

Russia has also reclaimed territory in its western Kursk region, pushing back Ukrainian troops who staged a shock offensive last August.

Putin on Wednesday visited troops involved in the Kursk counteroffensive and received a report on their progress, TV images showed.

Ukraine this week unleashed its largest ever drone attack on Russia, killing three people near Moscow. Russia has also stepped up its aerial attacks on Ukraine.

Even if Putin agrees a ceasefire, much remains uncertain in negotiations. Ukraine has pressed for security guarantees, but Trump has ruled out NATO membership.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he earlier assumed Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz would "inform" Moscow "on the negotiations that took place and the understandings reached."

Earlier, Russian news agencies reported that the heads of the CIA and Russia's SVR foreign intelligence agency had held their first phone call in several years.

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K.Okada--JT