Russian President Vladimir Putin's declaration of a short lived ceasefire on the Easter vacation quantity to little greater than "a media stunt," Czech International Minister Jan Lipavsky stated on April 20.
Putin introduced on April 19 that an Easter ceasefire would final from 6 p.m. that night till midnight on April 21. Russia has already violated the temporary truce a number of instances, in line with President Volodymyr Zelensky and soldiers on Ukraine's entrance strains.
Russia's failure to observe by way of by itself ceasefire exhibit Putin's contempt of the peace course of, Lipavsky advised the Czech media outlet CNN Prima Information.
"It's like occurring a starvation strike between breakfast and lunch and secretly consuming sweet," he said.
"We see that the assaults are persevering with. Ukraine studies that there have been quite a few assaults, so the ceasefire declared on this means is extra of a media stunt than actuality."
The weekend ceasefire can also be no substitution for the total 30-day ceasefire on hostilities that the U.S. has been lobbying for since March, Lipavsky continued.
"Putin by no means agreed to that and began to set different circumstances. We must always take a look at what the truth is quite than on the phrases," he stated.
Ukraine has agreed to enter an entire month-long truce since March 11. Kyiv's solely requirement is that Moscow abide by the identical phrases — however the Kremlin has repeatedly pushed again on Washington's proposal, demanding extraordinary concessions from Ukraine in change for a pause on assaults.
Putin's declaration of an Easter truce got here shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw from peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
"If for some cause one of many two events makes it very tough, we're simply going to say: 'you're silly, you're fools, you're horrible individuals,' and we're simply going to take a cross," Trump advised reporters on April 18.
The next day, Putin claimed he ordered the Easter ceasefire.
Relations between the U.S. and Russia have warmed considerably since Trump's election and subsequent involvement in peace negotiations. Washington is reportedly contemplating recognizing occupied Crimea as a Russian territory and lifting sanctions towards Moscow as a part of a future peace deal.
Lipavsky's dismissal of Putin's obvious posturing echoes the response of other European leaders to the so-called Easter truce. The U.K. overseas ministry on April 19 referred to as on Russia to transcend a "one-day pause" and commit to an entire ceasefire. Italian International Minister Antonio Tajani urged Putin "to lastly cease this conflict he began."
The Kyiv IndependentKate Tsurkan