Zelenskyy said he spoke Monday with Witkoff and expected a post-talks update call Tuesday night — but downplayed hopes of reaching a speedy accord that would permanently end Russia’s attacks on his nation.
He dismissed as unrealistic any proposed agreement that fails to include clear-cut security guarantees from both the U.S. and European allies, a commitment that Trump appears loath to give.
Martin said making any ceasefire permanent would require, in part, that Russia pays a punitive price for the costs of Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction.
That would mean, he said, approving the European Commission’s plan to tap frozen Russian funds largely banked in Belgium.
Martin expressed hopes that Belgium would drop its objections at the next European Council this month.
“When the U.N. charter is violated in such a brutal manner,” Martin said, referring to Russia’s ongoing invasion, “there has to be a deterrence of such behavior.
There has to be some responsibility on the aggressor who has wreaked such devastation. »