Zelenskyy: “Will hold presidential election if Putin agrees to a 60-day ceasefire”

[Financial News]  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the 11th (local time) that Ukraine would hold a presidential election if Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a full 60-day ceasefire. This is seen as a direct rebuttal aimed at U.S. President Donald Trump, who recently made critical remarks about him.
In an interview on ABC’s “This Week” on the same day, President Zelenskyy said, “Tell President Putin that if he agrees to a complete ceasefire for two months—that is, 60 days—we will hold an election.”
Earlier, President Trump directly targeted President Zelenskyy, telling reporters at the White House on the 10th, “I think it’s time for Ukraine to have a new president.” He publicly criticized Ukraine after it attacked Russian oil refineries the day after the United States temporarily lifted fuel sanctions imposed to squeeze Russia’s war funding.
In response, President Zelenskyy said, “Choosing the leader is up to the Ukrainian people,” and added, “President Putin also wants a change in Ukraine’s leadership.” Referring to the rise in global oil prices amid instability in the Middle East, he pushed back: “It is very easy to blame Ukraine even though everyone knows that global oil prices are rising because of the war in the Middle East.”
President Zelenskyy had also said earlier that Ukraine was willing to immediately halt its strikes on Russian oil refineries if Russia stopped attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Earlier, President Trump wrote in a brief statement posted on social media that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacking each other’s energy facilities.
He also said that Russia had agreed to immediately supply at least 300,000 metric tons of diesel (about 2.25 million barrels) to U.S. distribution networks and the global market.


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