- MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced a 72-hour
ceasefire in its ongoing 'Special Military Operation' in Ukraine on account of
the Victory Day celebrations, next month.
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- "By decision of the President of the Russian
Federation, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian
Federation V.V. Putin, for humanitarian reasons, during the days of the 80th
anniversary of the Victory, from midnight on May 7-8 until midnight on May
10-11, the Russian side declares a ceasefire. All military actions are
suspended for this period," read a statement issued by the Kremlin on
Monday afternoon.
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- "Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should
follow this example. In case of ceasefire violations by the Ukrainian side, the
Russian Armed Forces will provide an adequate and effective response. The
Russian side once again declares its readiness for peace negotiations without preconditions,
aimed at eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, and constructive
interaction with international partners," it added.
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- The celebrations on Red Square in Moscow will mark the
80th anniversary of Russia's victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Also read: ‘Vladimir, stop': Donald Trump after Russian strikes on Kyiv
- Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also
held a telephonic conversation with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio,
highlighting the importance of strengthening conditions to launch talks on
achieving peace in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on
Monday.
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- “The focus was on the Ukraine crisis. As a follow-up to
the April 25 conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US
Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff, the Foreign Minister and the Secretary
of State emphasised the importance of consolidating the emerging prerequisites
for launching talks in order to agree on a reliable path to long-term
sustainable peace," the statement read.
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- "The parties continued a fruitful exchange of views
on the key aspects of Russia-US political dialogue, which has significantly
intensified recently," it added.
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- Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that
President Putin was ready to resume negotiations with Ukraine without
preconditions.
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- Earlier this month, the Ministry of External Affairs
(MEA) had confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also received an
invitation for participation in Russia's Victory Day celebrations next month.
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- "Our Prime Minister has received an invitation for
the participation in the Victory Day celebrations. We will be announcing our
participation in the Victory Day celebration at the appropriate time,"
Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said
during a weekly media briefing in New Delhi.
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- Russian media reported that Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh is likely to attend the celebrations next month.
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- "[Singh's visit to Moscow for the parade] is
possible," reported Russia's state-run news agency Tass, citing Indian
government sources.
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- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has stated that many
countries have confirmed their participation in the upcoming events on May 9 in
Moscow, with invites going out to several foreign leaders from different
countries and not just the CIS members.
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- Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier invited
Prime Minister Modi to attend the celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of
Victory in the Great Patriotic War in Moscow in May 2020.
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- Earlier, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov had confirmed that
Putin is expected to visit India in early 2025 following an invitation from
Prime Minister Modi.
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- The visit is being planned as part of the ongoing
commitment to annual meetings between the two leaders.
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- The last visit by the Russian President to India took
place on December 6, 2021, during the 21st India-Russia Annual Summit in New
Delhi.
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- Meanwhile, PM Modi held two high-profile visits to Russia
last year, attending the 22nd Russia-India Summit in July and later
participated in the BRICS Summit held in Kazan in October.
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