Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday backed US President Donald Trump as Hamas and Israel agreed on the phase one of the peace deal brokered by him.
Putin said that the supported Trump’s Gaza initiative from the start and hoped that initiatives of the US President will indeed be implemented in practice.
"Against the backdrop of the humanitarian tragedy and disaster in the Gaza strip, active efforts are underway to find options for ending the Palestine-Israel conflict," Putin said.
"President Trump put forward his well-known initiatives, and as you saw, Russia supported them almost immediately. We see what is happening now, based on information and media reports and the final decisions, we sincerely hope that these initiatives of the US President will indeed be implemented in practice," he added.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy also welcomed Trump's efforts toward establishing lasting peace in the Middle East, calling it a crucial development not only for the region but for global stability.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said, "It is important that the prospect of establishing lasting peace in the Middle East is drawing closer to being realised. This matters not only for that one region, but for the whole world. An agreement is moving forward that could help everyone."
Zelenskyy also voiced hope for the release of hostages and an end to civilian suffering in Gaza. "We hope that the Israeli hostages, held for more than two years, will be released, and there will be no more victims in Gaza," he said.
Drawing a parallel to Ukraine's own struggle, the President added, "And we hope that global efforts will likewise be sufficient to achieve real peace for our country, in our region." Condemning ongoing aggression by Moscow, Zelenskyy said, "Russia remains the largest source of war and terror in the world today, and we expect just and firm international pressure on this aggressor to bring about lasting peace and guaranteed security."
This comes after Hamas announced that it has reached a hostage-ceasefire agreement with Israel during indirect talks in Egypt, saying the exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners would take place within 72 hours of the deal’s implementation.
The group confirmed that, as part of the first phase of a deal to end the war in Gaza, it will exchange 20 surviving hostages for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners
Hamas said the deal “provides for an end to the war in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the entry of humanitarian aid, and a prisoner exchange.”
Hamas also thanked the mediators and US President Donald Trump for brokering an end to the conflict with Israel, while urging them “to compel the occupation government to fully implement the obligations of the agreement and to prevent it from evading or delaying the implementation of what has been agreed upon.”
Earlier, Trump gave Hamas a deadline of October 5 to agree to the deal or face "all hell." Hamas responded by highlighting Trump’s promise to secure the release of all hostages in Gaza, a cause he had publicly championed. Trump claimed victory and reposted Hamas’s statement, despite the group not agreeing to all terms.
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