A Ukrainian rescuer works to extinguish a fire at the site of a drone attack in Kharkiv on April 29, 2025. (Sergey Bobok, AFP/Getty Images/TNS)
WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service) — President Donald Trump called for a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine to pave the way for talks on a lasting peace agreement, and threatened to impose further sanctions if a truce is violated.
“Hopefully, an acceptable ceasefire will be observed, and both Countries will be held accountable for respecting the sanctity of these direct negotiations,” Trump said in a social media post. “If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions.”
Trump’s comments underscored how he remains focused on halting the fighting immediately and contradicted Vice President JD Vance, who said Wednesday that the U.S. has tried to “move beyond the obsession with a 30-day ceasefire and more on what would the long-term settlement look like.”
Trump also appeared to contradict Vance and other members of the administration who have repeatedly threatened to walk away from the discussions unless an agreement is reached soon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no willingness to enter direct negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and has continued to insist on maximalist demands as a condition to stop fighting, including taking control of four regions in Ukraine it does not fully occupy.
“As president, I will stay committed to securing Peace between Russia and Ukraine, together with the Europeans, and a Lasting Peace it will be!” Trump wrote in the post.
The U.S. has previously floated proposals to end the war that would broadly freeze the conflict along current lines, leaving most of the territory occupied by Russia in Moscow’s hands after more than three years of fighting. The Trump administration is also prepared to recognize the Ukrainian region of Crimea as Russian, Bloomberg reported in April.
Ukraine and its allies have been urging the U.S. to increase pressure on Moscow, including through more restrictions on energy exports and oil revenues, to force it into a ceasefire on terms proposed by Trump.
The U.S. and European Union have already imposed an unprecedented level of sanctions on Moscow since its February 2022 invasion but have been unable to force Putin to stop the fighting.
Vance said last month that both sides would have to make territorial concessions to bring an end to the conflict that was ignited in 2022 when Putin’s forces launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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