Zelenskyy: Putin is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that Vladimir Putin «is afraid to tell» US President Donald Trump directly that Russia wants to continue the war.

Zelenskyy expressed this opinion in his evening address to Ukrainians.

«Putin, of course, is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war, wants to kill Ukrainians. That's why they in Moscow are framing the idea of silence with such preconditions that nothing will happen at all or that it will not happen for as long as possible. Putin often does this — he doesn't say «no» directly, but he does it in such a way that he almost always delays everything and makes normal solutions impossible. We believe that all this is now another Russian manipulation», Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

He added that the American side would provide control and verification during the «30-day silence».

«There was an American proposal for unconditional silence in the sky, at sea and at the front. We in Ukraine accepted this proposal. We heard from the American side that they were ready to organise control and verification. And it is feasible to ensure this with American capabilities and European capabilities. And to prepare answers to all the questions about long-term security and real, reliable peace during the silence and put a plan to end the war on the table. Ukraine is ready to work as quickly and constructively as possible. We told the American representatives about this, and our European partners, all our partners in the world know about it», Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

As you know, today, 13 March, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he agreed with the proposal to end hostilities in Ukraine, but that this should guarantee «long-term peace».

In his turn, US President Donald Trump commented on Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement and said that it was «promising, but not complete».

As a reminder, on 11 March, the Ukrainian delegation met with US representatives in Saudi Arabia. After the meeting, the head of the President's Office, Andrii Yermak, said that Ukraine had expressed its readiness to accept the US proposal for a temporary ceasefire for 30 days.

For his part, Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine accepts the US proposal for a temporary ceasefire for 30 days, now «if Russians agree, the silence will work».

Earlier, during a speech to Congress, US President Donald Trump said he had received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to Donald Trump, the letter states that Ukraine «is ready to sit down at the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring a sustainable peace», as well as to sign an agreement on minerals.

It should also be recalled that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals agreement between Ukraine and the United States at any time and in any convenient format.