April 6 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that he stood by a proposal made to Russia for a ceasefire contingent on Moscow halting all attacks on energy infrastructure.
Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address that the proposal had been conveyed to Moscow through the U.S. He also said work was continuing with U.S. negotiators on security guarantees, which he called the key to lasting peace.
“If Russia is ready to stop strikes on our energy infrastructure, we will be ready to respond in kind,” he said. “This proposal has been conveyed to the Russian side through the Americans.”
Zelenskiy offered last week to observe a ceasefire under similar conditions for Easter – in the Orthodox faith dominant in both Russia and Ukraine Easter falls on this coming Sunday.
But following new Russian attacks, he then said Russia had responded to the proposal by deploying Iranian-designed Shahed drones.
Moscow reacted coolly to Zelenskiy’s proposal last week, saying it favoured an overall peace deal instead.
In his remarks on Monday, after an overnight attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa killed three people, Zelenskiy said Russia appeared unwilling to agree to an Easter ceasefire.
“We have repeatedly proposed to Russia a ceasefire at least for Easter, a special time of the year,” he said. “But for them, all times are the same. Nothing is sacred.”
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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