Zelenskyy asks for two-month ceasefire for Ukrainian peace referendum

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a two-month ceasefire so that a referendum can be held on a peace deal to end the war with Russia. This is according to the daily Dzerkalo Tyzhnia.

Meanwhile, Russia has repeatedly stressed that it wants a sustainable peace, not just a sporadic ceasefire.

"We can hold a referendum. A referendum requires at least 60 days, and we need a real ceasefire for 60 days," Zelenskyy said, as quoted by the daily.

"Otherwise, we will not carry it out. That is, the referendum will not be valid," the Ukrainian president said, adding.

With the movement of Russian troops on the front lines of the war, Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for a ceasefire. He previously said that a ceasefire was a condition for holding general elections.

Meanwhile, the United States, since mid-November, has put forward a new peace plan for Ukraine.

On December 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, along with Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, at the Kremlin. The US representative's visit to Russia was related to discussing the US peace plan for Ukraine.

The Kremlin insisted that Russia remained open to negotiations and committed to the agreement reached at the meeting in Anchorage, Alaska.