Kremlin calls Ukrainian response to Putin's ceasefire offer ambiguous, calls for clarity
World
Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Saturday it wanted a definitive response from Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer of a three-day ceasefire next week, criticising the reaction so far as ambiguous and historically wrong.
Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany in World War Two.
The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run on May 8, May 9 - when Putin will host international leaders on Moscow's Red Square, including Chinese President Xi Jinping - and May 10.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeared to rule out such a brief ceasefire earlier on Saturday, saying he was only ready to sign up to a ceasefire that would last at least 30 days, an idea Putin has said needs a lot of work before it could become a reality.
Zelenskiy also said that Ukraine, given the continued war with Russia, could not guarantee the safety of any foreign dignitaries who came to Moscow for the May 9 parade.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said his comments amounted to a threat, while Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said nobody could guarantee that the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv would survive to see May 10 if Ukraine attacked Moscow during the May 9 celebrations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov convened a special conference call after Zelenskiy's comments.
He told reporters that Putin's three-day offer had been a test to assess Kyiv's readiness to search for a peaceful settlement to end the war.
