Washington [US], May 30: ABC News on May 29 quoted US President Donald Trump as saying he was still unsure whether Russian President Vladimir Putin was negotiating in good faith to resolve the conflict with Ukraine, and pledged a tougher response if the Russian leader was not.
"We'll know in two weeks. We'll know whether he's beating around the bush or not. And if he is, we'll change our response a little bit," Trump told reporters at the White House.
President Trump has repeatedly expressed his displeasure with Russia after Russia's heavy airstrikes in Ukraine last weekend. Trump said US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was doing a great job coordinating negotiations between the parties, and that Russia appeared interested in reaching a deal. Trump also said he has not imposed additional sanctions on Russia because he believes the parties involved are close to a ceasefire.
On the Russian side, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on May 28 that Moscow was finalizing the memorandum and planned to present it during the second round of direct talks with Ukraine, scheduled to take place in Turkey next week. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that his country had no objection to meeting with Russia, but only after receiving the memorandum.
Regarding the war, The Kyiv Independent on May 29 quoted Ukrainian officials as saying that they had shot down 10 of 90 Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and disabled 46 others. The Russian Defense Ministry announced the same day that it had shot down 48 Ukrainian UAVs the night before, including 30 in Russia's Belgorod region.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
