Both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed reservations about a proposed ceasefire in Ukraine during the Paris Olympics this summer.
The proposal, first mentioned by the French president Emmanuel Macron and later discussed by Chinese President Xi Jinpingaims to stop hostilities during the Games.
Zelensky told the online news site Ukrainska Pravda on Friday that the details of the initiative were not clear to him.
He highlighted the risks that Russia could use the ceasefire to bring military equipment closer to Ukraine.
Zelensky asked the question: “who will ensure that their troops do not advance towards us during a ceasefire?
“So I don’t understand the details. It sounds like a non-viable story so far.”
Putin, returning from a state visit to China, acknowledged that Xi had raised the idea of ​​a ceasefire, but did not elaborate.
However, he criticized the West for demanding that Russia adhere to an Olympic truce while excluding Russian athletes from the Games.
Moscow had also previously expressed doubts about such an initiative, saying Ukraine could use the Games period to further arm its armed forces and regroup for war.
After Macron previously floated the idea, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said there were no concrete proposals from Paris on how to proceed.
