Ukraine is ready for a ceasefire halting attacks on energy infrastructure if Russia agrees, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. He told reporters so on Tuesday after meeting US president Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Zelensky said that if Russia agrees not to attack Ukraine’s energy system, Ukraine is ready to enter any kind of understanding to stop attacks on energy-related facilities. Ukraine is prepared for such an “energy ceasefire”, he said.
At the meeting with Trump, Zelensky also discussed efforts to end the war between Ukraine and Russia. The war has gone on for four years and a full ceasefire has still not been reached. Diplomatic discussions are under way on whether a separate understanding to halt attacks on energy infrastructure could help ease tensions.
Zelensky had earlier said that Ukraine is striking Russia’s energy and oil infrastructure and carrying out long-range attacks aimed at war-making capacity inside Russia. Russia, for its part, is accused of regularly attacking Ukraine’s power and energy infrastructure and other facilities. With winter approaching, halting attacks on energy infrastructure has taken on particular importance.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war, energy issues and security matters were the focus of the meeting between Trump and Zelensky. In an earlier phone call, Trump had pressed Zelensky to stop Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries. Zelensky’s position was that Ukraine could agree to such an understanding if Russia likewise stopped attacking Ukraine’s energy sector and critical infrastructure.
Concern over the war also persists within NATO. According to NATO secretary general Mark Rutte, Russian president Vladimir Putin is behaving in an increasingly “reckless” way. NATO member states have been voicing concern about Europe’s security situation as well as the war in Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine has emerged as one of the most important international issues at the current session of the UN General Assembly, and stepping up diplomatic efforts to end it came up at the Trump-Zelensky meeting. So far, however, Russia has not announced any agreement to a ceasefire in the energy sector.
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