Zelensky: Putin 'sabotaging diplomacy over conditions

Washington and Kyiv have been pushing for an immediate 30-day truce, but Putin has expressed doubt over the plan

- Agencies

KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Vladimir Putin on Friday of sabotaging diplomatic efforts to secure peace in Ukraine, over the Russian leader's response to a US-Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

"He is now doing everything he can to sabotage diplomacy by setting extremely difficult and unacceptable conditions right from the start even before a ceasefire," Zelensky said in a post on X.

Washington and Kyiv have been pushing for an immediate 30-day truce, but Putin has expressed doubt over the plan, saying important questions remain.

Zelensky said the United States could exert sufficient pressure on Russia to stop its invasion because, he said, Putin "will not end the war on his own".

"The strength of America is enough to make it happen. Strong steps are needed.