Zelensky speaks to Trump envoys to 'reinvigorate diplomacy'

KYIV, July 23 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had spoken with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in a bid to revive efforts to end the war with Russia. US-led talks on resolving the conflict have stalled since Washington's attention has turned to the Middle East, while Russia stuck to its hardline demand that Ukraine cede territory.

"I just spoke with President Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. It was a good, important conversation on how to reinvigorate diplomacy and bring peace closer," Zelensky said on X. "Peace is needed — peace with dignity, and Ukraine has long been ready for it. Our teams keep staying in close contact, including following up on everything we have discussed," he added.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said meanwhile he would meet his US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, on the sidelines of a summit in Manila, to discuss the wars in Ukraine and Iran. In recent months, Kyiv has appeared to stall Moscow's grinding offensive and has substantially expanded its drone strikes against Russia, disrupting ordinary life there in the war's fifth year.

Moscow has meanwhile escalated its deadly missile strikes against Kyiv, launching dozens of hard-to-intercept rounds as Ukraine struggles with depleted air defense stocks. Russia has urged Ukraine to withdraw from the parts of the eastern Donbas region it still holds as a precondition for any peace deal. Kyiv has rejected the demand. The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and spiraled into Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiga meanwhile accused Russia of threatening global food supplies by targeting ships in the Black Sea that carry farm produce and said Kyiv had sought a UN Security Council meeting on Monday to discuss the issue. "Russia is holding global food security hostage," he said. "At least three civilian cargo ships have been bombed in the past few days by Russia." He added that dozens of crews have been killed or injured.

"Just as Iran targeted energy routes in the Strait of Hormuz, Russia is now targeting global food markets in the Black Sea. Millions of families across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America may face rising prices and hunger if this terror continues," he added.

Source: manilatimes.net