Contradictory signals at Washington. Arrived in Italy, the US Vice -President declares himself “optimistic” that the Ukraine War can be stopped

High -ranking officials from Donald Trump's administration sent contradictory signals on Friday on the prospects of fire in Ukraine, while Russia stressed that the armistice on Ukrainian energy targets, which he had announced a month ago, “expired”, reports News.ro citing AFP.

Arrived in visit to Rome, US Vice President JD Vance was declared “optimistic” in terms of the progress of the ongoing negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine. The statement was made at the meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

“I do not want to go ahead, but we are very optimistic about the possibility of putting an end to this very brutal war,” he said, stating that he has “interesting things to report” to the Italian prime minister, although they had met in Washington, no 24 hours before. “I want to inform the Prime Minister about some aspects of Russia-Ukraine negotiations, even in the last 24 hours we think we have some interesting things to report,” Vance told reporters standing with meloni.

This statement contrasts with the pessimism of the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who a few hours earlier had threatened that the United States will withdraw from mediation efforts and “will go further”, if they find, in a few days, that peace “is not possible”.

“The United States also has other priorities,” Marco Rubio warned at leaving France, after a series of meetings on the previous day with the Ukrainians and Europeans in Paris. He insisted that Washington does not want the Ukrainian problem to extend “weeks and months.”

Russia announces the end of the energy morality

For his part, the Kremlin said on Friday that the moratorium on blows against energy sites, announced in March for 30 days, has “expired”, which further fades to cease the fire desired by Donald Trump, who wants to get the peace between Kiev and Moscow as quickly as possible.

At the same time, new Russian blows during the night resulted in at least two dead and about one hundred wounded in the cities of Kharkov and Sumî, according to the Ukrainian authorities.

In March, the White House had announced with satisfaction that it had obtained the separate agreement of the two belligerents to cease the attacks on the energy infrastructure of the adverse camp. A month later, the Kremlin agreed back on the shelf. “The Moon (Moratory) has really expired,” said the spokesman of the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov, during his daily press briefing, in answer to a question from AFP. He added: “For the moment, there were no other instructions from the Supreme Commander, President Putin”, thus confirming the end of this fragile morality from Russia.

In fact, the conditions and the effective date of the entry into force were already quite vague: Moscow believes that it started on March 18, following a telephone conversation between Putin and Trump, and Kiev a few days later, after discussions with the Americans.

In addition, Ukraine and Russia have accused each other almost daily of violating the agreement, a symbol of its fragility and the difficulty of ensuring that it is respected.

A new meeting next week in London

Before announcing this limited armistice at the energy sites, Donald Trump had initially proposed a complete and complete ceasefire, which had been accepted by Kiev under the pressure of Washington, but which was rejected by Vladimir Putin.

Americans, Europeans and Ukrainians have agreed to meet again next week in London after Thursday's meeting in Paris.

In the last two months, Donald Trump has made a change of spectacular and unexpected position in relations with Russia, repeatedly taking over the latter's rhetoric, especially on the origins of the conflict, and making Kiev to be afraid of the precious American military support.

Europeans, in their turn, have so far been marginalized in the open negotiations by Washington. Some, in front of the French President Emmanuel Macron, advocates for a European military contingent in Ukraine once a fire cessation is established. But this option divides the Kiev allies and remains a red line for Moscow.

Memorandum of intent on minerals signed by US and Ukraine

On Friday, Ukraine imposed sanctions against three Chinese companies, without providing detailed reasons. But these measures come after Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski had accused, the day before, China of providing weapons to Russia and helping her to produce them.

This accusation was rejected by Beijing on Friday, who replied that he had never delivered “lethal weapons to the Ukraine war, denouncing Zelenski's” arbitrary accusations. “

Despite the diplomatic ballet, Russian attacks continue to constantly. One person died and at least 103 were injured in a missile attack on Kharkov, according to his mayor, Igor Terehov. At Sumî, also in the northeast, where 35 people died on Sunday after a double kick of the Russian army, a new Raid with Drone resulted in a dead and injury, the local military administration announced.

For his part, the Russian army stated in a statement on Friday that the blows targeted “Ukrainian military” sites.

At the same time, Americans and Ukrainians on Thursday signed a “memorandum of intent”, the first step towards a complex agreement on access to natural resources and strategic minerals of Ukraine. Made public on Friday by Kiev, the Memorandum states that Ukrainian Prime Minister Denîs Şmîhal will go to Washington next week for negotiations and ensure that Americans and Ukrainians are trying to conclude this agreement until April 26.

The day before, Donald Trump suggested that the bilateral agreement will be signed “next Thursday”.