The Prague Post - UK urges Putin to 'get serious about peace'

Ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the EU joined the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy for a meeting of the so-called "Weimar+" group.

The meeting follows Saturday's visit by the leaders of France, Germany, Poland and the UK to Kyiv, where they called for "a full, lasting and reliable" 30-day ceasefire from Monday, as a condition for opening direct talks.

"This is the time for Vladimir Putin to get serious about peace in Europe, to get serious about a ceasefire and to get serious about talks," Lammy said on Monday.

He warned that European countries must "be prepared if this is not the moment of seriousness from Putin and we do not get that peace".

The "Weimar+" group was set up in February in response to shifting US policy towards the war in Ukraine and European security under President Donald Trump.

The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas renewed calls for a ceasefire on Monday.

"If there is no ceasefire there cannot be talks under fire," she said in London, accusing Russia of "playing games".

"It takes two to want peace. It takes only one to want war. And we see that Russia clearly wants war," she added.

Putin on Sunday proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15, but did not respond to the European call for a 30-day ceasefire.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia had fired more than 100 drones overnight, despite the calls for a ceasefire to start on Monday.

- 'Existential' challenge -

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to meet Putin personally in Turkey, but did not say whether he would still attend if Russia refused the European ceasefire proposal.

Trump said direct talks were needed to determine whether peace was possible.

German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius warned the "clock is ticking" for Russia to agree by the end of Monday to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine or face potential new sanctions.

If Moscow does not accept the demand, "preparations will be set in motion" for fresh sanctions, he said.

The talks would cover "repelling Russian aggression and bolstering European security", said the UK Foreign Office.

Lammy was joined by his German, Spanish and Polish counterparts, while France was represented by its minister for Europe Benjamin Haddad.

"We want peace. We want negotiations. The precondition for this is of course is ... to have a truce, unconditional truce in the air, sea ground for 30 days" said Haddad, adding that would "create the space for negotiation."

"The challenge we face today is not only about the future of Ukraine -– it is existential for Europe as a whole," Lammy said ahead of the talks.

European leaders have reacted with scepticism to Putin's proposal for direct talks in Istanbul, with French President Emmanuel Macron warning he was merely trying "to buy time".

He reiterated his position later Sunday, insisting on the "necessity for a ceasefire" before talks between Putin and Zelensky.

In a phone call with Lammy on Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington's "top priority remains bringing an end to the fighting and an immediate ceasefire", State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

Y.Blaha--TPP