Putin backs ‘idea’ of Ukraine ceasefire, but says a truce deal needs work
Vladimir Putin says Russia is “in favour” of a ceasefire in Ukraine, but said details of any truce brokered by the US still need to be worked out.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 has left hundreds of thousands of dead and injured, displaced millions of people, reduced towns to rubble and triggered the sharpest confrontation between Moscow and the West in decades.
Speaking to reporters at a news conference in the Kremlin, the Russian president said: “We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities.
“The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it.
“But there are issues that we need to discuss. And I think we need to talk to our American colleagues as well.”
However, Mr Putin did not appear ready to sign an agreement.
“But we proceed from the fact that this cessation should be such that it would lead to long-term peace and would eliminate the original causes of this crisis,” he added.
They are the first comments by Mr Putin on the US-led proposal for a 30-day ceasefire between the two sides, which Ukraine agreed to on Tuesday after talks with a US delegation in Saudi Arabia.
US envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet the Russian president in the coming hours.
Mr Putin also said he might call Mr Trump to discuss the issue.
Speaking at a press conference with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte, Mr Trump called the Russian president’s statement “very promising” but said the deal was not complete and that he hoped Moscow would “do the right thing”.
The US president had said in the White House on Wednesday that he hoped the Kremlin would agree to the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine said it would support, to end what Trump called the “bloodbath”.
Putin aiming to expel Ukrainian counter-offensive
Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns Russia is seeking to prolong the war as Ukrainian forces retreat in places. (Reuters: Ludovic Marin)
Earlier on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was seeking to “prolong the war” by delaying any signing of the ceasefire deal.
He said there had been no “meaningful” response from Moscow to the proposed 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine and the US announced they supported after talks on Tuesday.
“Regrettably, for more than a day already, the world has yet to hear a meaningful response from Russia to the proposals made. This once again demonstrates that Russia seeks to prolong the war and postpone peace for as long as possible. We hope that US pressure will be sufficient to compel Russia to end the war,” Mr Zelenskyy said on social media.
Mr Putin says he would determine the “next steps” of a ceasefire proposal, based on the success of Russia’s ongoing attempts to expel Ukrainian forces from the Russian region of Kursk.
Russian forces have made rapid gains in recent days.
Ukraine has held a small portion of the Russian region after launching a cross-border counter-offensive in August last year.
