EU top diplomat urges Russia to agree Ukraine ceasefire, with US pressure

Europe's top diplomat Kaja Kallas urged Russia on Monday to show goodwill and agree on a ceasefire in Ukraine. She said "giving back Ukrainian children that have been deported to Russia" and "releasing prisoners of war" were examples of gestures Russia could make to show goodwill. Speaking before a meeting of European foreign ministers in Madrid to discuss the war in Ukraine, she also called on the United States to apply pressure on the Kremlin to put an end to the three-year-old conflict.

MADRID (Reuters) - Europe's top diplomat Kaja Kallas urged Russia on Monday to show goodwill and agree on a ceasefire in Ukraine. She said "giving back Ukrainian children that have been deported to Russia" and "releasing prisoners of war" were examples of gestures Russia could make to show goodwill. Speaking before a meeting of European foreign ministers in Madrid to discuss the war in Ukraine, she also called on the United States to apply pressure on the Kremlin to put an end to the three-year-old conflict.

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Russia owed a clear response to the U.S. on whether it wants to go on a peace path at all.

U.S. President Donald Trump is becoming increasingly frustrated about the lack of movement in his efforts to broker a peace deal, after he adopted a more conciliatory stance towards Russia which was met with wariness by his European allies.

As for a deployment of peacekeeping troops in Ukraine that France and Britain have been working on, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said it was up to the Ukrainian government to decide when and if to allow foreign troops on its soil. (Reporting by David Latona. Writing by Emma Pinedo, Editing by Andrei Khalip, William Maclean).