Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he agrees in principle with a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but he emphasised that the terms are yet to be worked out and noted that any truce should pave the way to lasting peace.
“The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it,” Mr Putin told a news conference in Moscow.
“But there are issues that we need to discuss, and I think that we need to talk about it with our American colleagues and partners and, perhaps, have a call with President Trump and discuss it with him.”
President Donald Trump said there have been “good signals” coming out of Russia and offered guarded optimism about Mr Putin’s statement.
Vladimir Putin, right, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pose for photos following talks at the Kremlin in Moscow (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)
He reiterated that he stood ready to speak with Putin and underscored that it was time to end the war.
Mr Putin “put out a very promising statement, but it wasn’t complete,” Mr Trump said on Thursday at a start of a meeting at the White House with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte.
“Now we’re going to see whether or not Russia’s there. And if they’re not, it’ll be a very disappointing moment for the world.”
Mr Putin noted the need to develop mechanisms to control possible breaches of the truce and signalled that Russia would seek guarantees that Ukraine would not use the break in hostilities to rearm and continue mobilisation.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff, centre, was scheduled to meet Vladimir Putin (Ben Curtis/AP)
“We agree with the proposals to halt the fighting, but we proceed from the assumption that the ceasefire should lead to lasting peace and remove the root causes of the crisis,” Mr Putin said.
The Russian leader made the remarks just hours after the arrival of Mr Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Moscow for talks on the ceasefire, which Ukraine has accepted.
A Kremlin adviser said that Mr Putin planned to meet with Mr Witkoff later on Thursday.
The diplomatic effort coincided with a Russian claim that its troops have driven the Ukrainian army out of a key town in Russia’s Kursk border region, where Moscow has been trying for seven months to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their foothold.
Russian forces claim to have retaken the town of Sudzha which was captured by Ukrainian forces last year (AP Photo, File)
Mr Putin said it appeared that the US persuaded Ukraine to accept a ceasefire and that Ukraine is interested because of the battlefield situation, particularly in Kursk.
Referring to the Ukrainian troops in Kursk, he questioned what will happen to them if the ceasefire takes hold, saying: “Will all those who are there come out without a fight? Or will the Ukrainian leadership order them to lay down arms and surrender?”
Mr Putin thanked Trump “for paying so much attention to the settlement in Ukraine”.
He also thanked the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa for their “noble mission to end the fighting,” a statement that signalled those countries’ potential involvement in a ceasefire deal.
Russia has said it will not accept peacekeepers from any Nato members to monitor a prospective truce.
The Russian defence ministry’s claim that it recaptured the town of Sudzha, a Ukrainian operations hub in Kursk, came hours after Mr Putin visited his commanders in the Kursk region.
The claim could not be independently verified. Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.
The renewed Russian military push and Mr Putin’s high-profile visit to his troops unfolded as Mr Trump seeks a diplomatic end to the war, which began more than three years ago with Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The US on Tuesday lifted its March 3 suspension of military aid for Kyiv after senior US and Ukrainian officials reported making progress on how to stop the fighting during talks in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Trump said on Wednesday that “it’s up to Russia now” as his administration presses Moscow to agree to the ceasefire.
The US president has made veiled threats to hit Russia with new sanctions if it does not engage with peace efforts.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Thursday that Mr Trump is “willing to apply maximum pressure on both sides,” including sanctions that reach the highest scale on Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky chided Russia on the Telegram messaging app on Thursday for what he said was its slow response to the ceasefire proposal, accusing Moscow of trying to delay any peace deal.
He said that Ukraine is “determined to move quickly toward peace” and hoped US pressure would compel Russia to stop fighting.