President Vladimir Putin’s proclamation of a short “Easter truce” in the three-year-long war has been criticized by Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha.
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Putin promised a 30-hour ceasefire on Saturday, but according to Sybiha, everyone was hoping for a 30-day end to hostilities in Ukraine from Russia.
The Russian Putin told his troops “to stop all fighting” on humanitarian grounds in a televised statement, and he added that he expects the Ukrainian side to comply.
In response to “possible violations of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions,” Putin stressed that troops should be ready to respond.
Despite Ukraine’s “clear and consistent” commitment to achieving a peace settlement, the foreign minister of Ukraine accused Putin of being unsincere.
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During the 11 March conference in Jeddah, Sybiha recalled that his country “agreed unconditionally” to the 30-day interim ceasefire proposal from the United States.
According to the Ukrainian official’s statement posted to X, Russia has already rejected the U.S. proposal, which “has already lasted 39 days.”
Instead, according to Sybiha, “the Moscow regime” terrorized Ukrainian residents and civilian infrastructure and enforced a number of requirements.
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Putin has reportedly spoken out over his willingness to call for a truce. Following President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s response, he made a comment on the short notice (30 hours rather than 30 days).
“We know his words cannot be trusted and we will look at actions, not words,” Sybiha added, bringing attention to the “long history” of inconsistent remarks and acts from Putin.
According to Sybiha, “This war began and continues only because of Russia.” He then went on to advise Moscow to follow through with the 30-day armistice plan.
The minister made it clear that they want Russian forces to stop firing in all directions, and he asked their Ukrainian colleagues and the world community at large to be on high alert.