China today expressed support for "direct dialogue" between Russia and Ukraine, after US President Donald Trump announced yesterday the "immediate start" of peace talks between the two countries after his phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
"We hope that the affected parties will continue to seek through dialogue and negotiations a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement acceptable to all parties", said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning at her regular press conference.
Let us be grateful to the United States for taking a leadership position on Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged journalists today upon his arrival to participate in the joint meeting of defense and foreign ministers of the EU countries in Brussels.
What the Americans are doing is very important. Until January of this year, there were no talks with the Russians. I am glad that President Donald Trump broke the ice and took a leadership role, I congratulate him for that, Rutte said.
According to him, the United States is coordinating its actions with its European partners. It is a good sign that there was a conversation last night (between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin), and that immediately after that Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, he added.
Today we will discuss the threats to the EU and NATO related to Russia, China and terrorism. We will also talk about the need to increase defense spending and joint actions to help Ukraine in order to achieve a ceasefire and lasting peace, the alliance's secretary general said.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaia Kalas announced that the EU Council will approve new sanctions against Russia today over the war in Ukraine. According to her, due to the lack of agreement from Moscow for an unconditional ceasefire, the EU will begin preparations for additional measures, BTA reported.
According to Kalas, last night's conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shows that there is no progress on the issue of the ceasefire. According to her, the European sanctions will have a significant impact in the coming months.
It is important that there is an unconditional ceasefire, Kiev has already accepted this, and if Russia does not follow suit, we will put additional pressure on Moscow, said Kallas. We have heard statements from the US that if there is no unconditional ceasefire, strong action will follow. That is what we want to see, said Kallas.
She expressed her expectation that the EU Council will approve the lifting of economic sanctions against Syria. We want people to have a livelihood in the country. There are concerns about whether the government in Damascus is moving in the right direction, but we have no choice, we must help stabilize the country, said Kallas.