US has leverage to force Russia to come to negotiating table – Lithuanian president

VILNIUS – The United States has the military and economic leverage to force Russia to come to the negotiating table, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Friday after he took part in a Joint Expeditionary Force summit in Oslo, also attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky via videolink.

"Most importantly, the Ukrainian president himself showed considerable optimism on this issue. We are not naive, we understand that Russia has its own goals, but Russia can be forced to the negotiating table, and the US has strong leverage in particular," Nauseda said.

"The US is becoming more and more convinced that Russia, not Ukraine, is the obstacle to a ceasefire, and its attitude towards Russia's stance is changing. I hope that the US will use the powerful leverage it has in its hands, both militarily and especially economically, to bring Vladimir Putin to the table, if not in a good way, (...) then to do it by force," the Lithuanian president said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's decree on a three-day ceasefire with Ukraine came into force on Thursday. The Kremlin said it would test Kyiv's readiness for peace, but Ukraine called it a farce.

The ceasefire announced by the Kremlin coincides with the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe on Friday in Moscow. Ukraine rejected the ceasefire as an attempt by Moscow to secure the Victory Day parade.

Meanwhile, the US is calling on Russia to accept the unconditional 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine offered by Washington back in March. Kyiv accepted US President Donald Trump's offer, but Russia rejected it.

On Thursday, Trump said on Truth Social after his conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that "if the (30-day) ceasefire is not respected, the U.S. and its partners will impose further sanctions."