U.S. President Donald Trump said on May 28 that he has not yet imposed new sanctions on Russia because he believes a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine may be within reach.
"If I think I'm close to getting a deal, I don't want to screw it up by doing that," he told reporters, adding that he is "much tougher" than those he is negotiating with.
Trump said the United States would soon learn whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is genuinely interested in ending the war. If it becomes clear that Moscow is stalling, Trump warned, Washington would "respond a little bit differently."
CNN reported on May 27 that Trump is weighing new sanctions on Russia after a deadly weekend of missile and drone strikes across Ukraine. Russian forces on May 26 conducted what Ukrainian authorities described as the largest drone attack of the full-scale war, reportedly involving 355 Shahed-type drones and decoys.
During a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 19, Trump was told that a "memorandum of peace" outlining conditions for a ceasefire would be delivered shortly. As of May 27, no such document has been received, a U.S. official and a White House source familiar with the matter told CNN.
Responding to a question on whether Putin is serious about peace, Trump said that "We're going to find out very soon. It'll take about two weeks, or week and a half."
"They seem to want to do something. But until the document is signed, I can't tell you... I'm very disappointed at what happened. A couple of nights now where people were killed in the middle of what you would call a negotiation."
Trump added that he would be willing to meet both President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Putin "if necessary."
Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow had proposed a new round of peace talks with Ukraine to be held in Istanbul on June 2.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that Kyiv is still awaiting the Russian side’s proposed ceasefire memorandum, which was expected following peace talks in Turkey earlier this month. The Ukrainian side has presented their document to Russia, according to the minister.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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