The leading EU countries, the European Commission, and the United Kingdom have stated their support for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine and warned that they wound augment pressure on Russia and expand weapons supplies to Kiev, according to a joint statement by the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the EU High Representative (Weimar+) after their meeting in London.
According to the statement, the top diplomats urged Russia to accept a 30-day ceasefire "without delay." They stressed that they "joined Ukraine in calling for an immediate, full, unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create space for talks on a just, comprehensive and lasting peace."
At the same time, the participants in the meeting agreed "to pursue ambitious measures to reduce Russia’s ability to wage war" and "to work with·Ukraine on initiatives to strengthen Ukraine’s armed forces, restock munitions and equipment, and further enhance industrial capacity."
Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin early on May 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin invited the Kiev authorities to resume the direct talks they broke off in 2022 without any preliminary conditions. He proposed to launch a dialogue on May 15 in Istanbul. The Russian leader recalled that Russia had declared ceasefires more than once but all of them, including the latest three-day V-Day truce, were violated by the Kiev regime.
