The United States and its European allies are finalising a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that if refused would see them jointly impose new sanctions on Russia, a French diplomatic source said yesterday.
US President Donald Trump has called for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, warning that Washington and its partners would impose further sanctions if the ceasefire was not respected.
Ukraine has expressed readiness to accept the US proposal. Russia has unilaterally declared a three-day ceasefire running from May 8-10 to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
“We’re not completely with a finalised project, but we hope that we’re at a moment of convergence,” said the diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“What could happen in the coming hours and days, there could be an announcement of a ceasefire either of 30 days or compartmentalised, which is still being discussed.”
France, Britain and Germany in recent weeks have sought closer co-ordination with Washington. Two weeks ago they pushed back against some US proposals on how to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, making counterproposals on issues from territory to sanctions, according to the full texts of the proposals seen by Reuters.
“We are reaching a point where we will not wait for a formal response from Moscow to a joint proposal to declare this ceasefire,” said the source.
The source said there were still discussions on whether to announce a unilateral ceasefire or to give a short response time to Russia, although if it refused then new American and EU sanctions would be imposed on Moscow.
The two sides are co-ordinating on the sanctions packages.
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