President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Thursday did not rule out a U.S. and Ukrainian proposal for a monthlong ceasefire, but he set down numerous conditions that would most likely delay any truce — or could make one impossible to achieve.
Putin’s comments highlighted the balance he was trying to strike, exuding confidence in Russia’s position on the battlefield while seeking to continue talks with the United States and avoid upsetting President Donald Trump, who has emerged as a key geopolitical partner for Putin.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine later said the Russian leader set so many conditions “that nothing will work out at all or that it will not work out for as long as possible.”
Putin’s remarks came as Russia kept up its momentum in the key battle in the Kursk region of Russia, where Moscow’s forces appeared close to pushing Ukraine out of the territory it seized last summer.
“The idea itself is the right one, and we definitely support it,” Putin said, referring to the ceasefire proposal. “But there are questions that we need to discuss.”
Putin suggested that his conditions would include limits to Ukraine’s ability to mobilize more troops and import weaponry during a ceasefire — restrictions that would put Ukraine at a deeper disadvantage if the fighting restarted.
Putin’s comments were the first about the ceasefire offer that emerged from negotiations between the United States and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia this week. They suggested that the Russian leader viewed that proposal as just a part of a broader negotiation between Washington and Moscow.
Putin said he might “have a call with President Trump and talk it over with him.” When asked if he would speak with the Russian president, Trump said he would “love to meet” and talk with him.
Trump said the United States had discussed with Ukraine possible concessions as part of a peace agreement. “We’ve been discussing with Ukraine land and pieces of land that would be kept and lost, and all of the other elements of a final agreement,” Trump said.
Putin said Thursday that Russia would insist on a peace deal that addressed the “original causes” of the war — suggesting that his push for major Western concessions, such as a reduction of NATO’s presence in Eastern Europe, hadn’t changed, though it wasn’t clear if he would make them a stipulation for a monthlong ceasefire.
The New York Times Services