Interested in ending the war

Ukrainian former minister optimistic that all parties are interested in ending the war

From CNN's Caitlin Danaher

Ukraine’s former trade minister said he is optimistic that all parties are interested in ending the war, as Russia has not yet shown signs of attempting to sabotage the peace process.

“There are a lot of symptoms or signs which are telling that maybe something is going to be happening. For example, we don’t see the Russian side actively sabotaging the process. We don’t see them leaking information. We don’t see them undermining our team,” Tymofiy Mylovanov, an economist who previously acted as Ukraine’s minister of economic development and trade, Mylovanov told CNN on Monday.

“It’s difficult to find a win-win here between Russia and Ukraine, but definitely I think all parties are interested in ending the war,” Mylovanov said.

Despite the optimism, the former minister said that if Russia is unwilling to move on the 28 points laid out in the Trump administration’s initial plan, no peace deal will be reached.

“This is the fundamental question: Is this an ultimatum, or is it an opening bid? If it is an opening bid, I think we will get somewhere,” he said.

Russia’s willingness to compromise would likely be revealed in the coming days, Mylovanov added.

“From the previous conversations or negotiations with Russia, we saw that that becomes clear almost immediately. So I think today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, it will become clear,” he said.