Putin voices doubts over a U.S.-proposed ceasefire with Ukraine, and sets conditions
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a joint news conference with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko following their talks at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a joint news conference with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko following their talks at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, Thursday. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP hide caption
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he supported the general idea of a U.S.-backed ceasefire with Ukraine, but he listed a number of conditions that would need to be met.
"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," he said in a news conference.
Putin made the comments as President Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, visited Moscow to discuss a ceasefire plan — more than three years into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It was two days after the U.S. and Ukrainian officials held talks in Saudi Arabia, in which Ukraine agreed "to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire."
But Putin said a monthlong ceasefire might give Ukraine's forces a a chance to retreat, regroup and rearm just as Russia's army gained the upper hand in the Kursk region, parts of which were captured by Kyiv last year.
"Does that mean Ukraine will use those 30 days to continue forced mobilization, get weapons supplies and prepare its mobilized units?" the Russian president said.
And Putin questioned how such a ceasefire would be enforced.
"Who will give orders to cease hostilities, and what will these orders be worth?" he asked.
In his evening video address, Ukraine's President Volodomyr Zelenskyy called Putin's response "predictable" and "manipulative."
"Putin, of course, is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war, wants to kill Ukrainians. And that is why, in Moscow, they are setting the idea of [a ceasefire] with such preconditions that nothing will work out at all or that it will not work out for as long as possible. Putin often does this - he does not say "no" directly, but does so in a way that only delays everything and makes normal decisions impossible. We believe that all this is now another Russian manipulation."
In Washington, President Trump said he hoped Putin would "do the right thing", but seemed to bemoan the need for all this shuttle diplomacy and parsing of language. "Thousands of people a week are dying. So we really don't have very much. We have to make this fast. It shouldn't be very complicated."
Earlier Thursday, Putin's foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, reiterated demands that Ukraine must recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea and four southeastern regions, withdraw troops from lands claimed by Russia and pledge never to join NATO. Ushakov said he "hopes [the United States] knows our position and wants to believe that they will take it into account as we work together going forward."
Moscow also seeks limits on Ukraine's military, protections for Russian speakers and elections to replace Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Meanwhile, Russian forces have reclaimed most of the territory lost in last summer's Ukrainian offensive in Russia's Kursk region.
The U.S. restored military aid to Ukraine after ceasefire talks Tuesday in Saudi Arabia. President Trump, pushing for a ceasefire, warned Russia of financial consequences if Putin resists.
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