Germany told Russia to respond to the ceasefire proposal by midnight on Monday or face new sanctions, government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said during a briefing earlier in the day.
Berlin warned Moscow that if the Kremlin doesn’t agree to the proposal from Ukraine and its European allies, new, tougher sanctions will be prepared and introduced.
“The clock is ticking — we still have 12 hours until the end of this day,” Kornelius reportedly said around midday, adding that Berlin is coordinating with European partners on additional sanctions.
Over the weekend Russian President Vladimir Putin did not respond to the ceasefire plan and instead offered Ukraine to have direct talks in Istanbul on Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy replied that he is ready to travel to Turkey himself to meet Putin. He reiterated Ukraine’s proposal for a complete and unconditional ceasefire starting May 12 before the negotiations.
The Kremlin has not responded to Zelenskyy’s proposal for a face-to-face meeting of the two leaders.
No ceasefire on the ground as Turkey prepares Istanbul meeting
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Monday that Russia is not respecting the ceasefire on May 12.
Speaking with the foreign ministers of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, he referred to Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi’s report about Moscow forces continuing their attacks on Ukrainian troops and positions on the frontlines.
At least seven people have been injured in Russia’s drone attacks overnight on Monday, a deadline which Kyiv and its allies put forward in their demand for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has called on Russia and Ukraine to meet “as soon as possible” and “declare a ceasefire”.
“We hope that this will happen, and that is what we are working towards,” he said, adding that he was confident that a “compromise” could be found “in the next few days”.
“I think the parties will reach a compromise in the next few days. As you know, the Ukrainians want a ceasefire first, then talks, and the Russians want talks first, then a ceasefire, so the situation is deadlocked,” he admitted.
