Star Metro - Zelensky accuses Russia of buying time to stall peace talks

Trump spoke by phone Monday with Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, while Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Istanbul Friday for their first direct talks on the conflict in more than three years.

But they failed to yield a truce, and Zelensky accused Putin of sending "empty heads" to the negotiating table.

"It is obvious that Russia is trying to buy time in order to continue its war and occupation," Zelensky said in a post on social media.

Trump framed his two-hour conversation with Putin, the third so far this year, as a breakthrough.

The Republican is seeking an elusive deal to end the war that he had promised on the campaign trail to solve in 24 hours.

But Putin again rebuffed the call for a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire, instead saying only that he was ready to work with Ukraine on a "memorandum" outlining a possible roadmap and different positions on ending the war.

Moscow is feeling confident with its troops advancing on the battlefield and Trump having resumed dialogue with Putin after almost three years of the West shunning the Kremlin chief.

"The memorandum buys time for Russia," Russian political analyst Konstantin Kalachev told AFP, adding "the cessation of hostilities is not a condition for it, which means that Russia can continue its offensive".

Zelensky said Monday he had no details of what this "memorandum" would be, but was willing to look at Russia's ideas.

On a rainy morning in Moscow, some were sceptical about the prospect of any progress.

"I don't think anything will come of it," said Anastasiya, 40, a freelancer, "they want to cheat us as usual".

"I believe that we don't need these negotiations, we will win anyways," said Marina, 70, a retired woman who used to work as an engineer.

Germany's defence minister Boris Pistorius said the call between the two leaders showed Putin was not "genuinely interested in peace".

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and has since destroyed swathes of the country's east, killed tens of thousands and now controls around one-fifth of its territory.

- Sanctions push -

Ukraine and Europe are trying to put pressure on Trump to hit Moscow with a new package of massive sanctions after Putin refused to travel to Turkey for face-to-face talks with Zelensky.

"Ukraine is ready for any negotiation format that delivers results. And if Russia continues to put forward unrealistic conditions and undermine progress, there must be tough consequences," the Ukrainian leader said.

Kyiv accused Moscow's negotiators of making unrealistic demands at the Istanbul talks, including sweeping territorial claims that Ukraine has repeatedly rejected.

"America said that if Russia doesn't agree on an unconditional ceasefire, then there are going to be consequences. So we want to see those consequences, also from the US side," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told ministers in Brussels.

Zelensky said Monday that Kyiv and its allies needed to "work hard" to convince Trump of the need for more sanctions.

"Banking and energy sanctions from America will greatly determine whether Putin and the Russian army will continue to profit from this war or not," he said.

The EU on Tuesday formally adopted its 17th round of sanctions on Moscow, targeting 200 vessels of Russia's so-called shadow fleet, and drawing ire from Russia.

"Western politicians and the media are making titanic efforts to disrupt the constructive dialogue between Russia and the United States," said Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's Direct Investment Fund and lead economic negotiator with the United States.

Putin has revelled in Russia's ability to withstand sanctions, with Moscow having rerouted its vital oil and gas supplies to India and China.

Russia's key ally China also on Tuesday said it backed direct dialogue between the warring sides.

"It is hoped that the parties concerned will carry on with the dialogue... to reach a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement acceptable to all parties," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

A.Desjardins--SMC