Putin supports Trump's Ukrainian ceasefire in principle, but says “there is a problem” to discuss with us

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he agrees with the U.S. proposal in principle 30-day ceasefire in Ukrainebut these terms need to be addressed, he stressed that it should pave the way for lasting and peaceful.

“The idea itself is correct, and we will certainly support it,” Putin said at a press conference in Moscow.

“But we need to discuss some issues, and I think we need to discuss with our American colleagues and partners,” he said, adding that he could discuss the details in another phone conversation with President Trump.

Putin pointed out that Ukrainian troops were surrounded in the last foothold in Russia's Kursk region and said it was necessary to determine whether they would lay down their weapons and surrender before the ceasefire. He also pointed out that there is a need to develop a mechanism to control possible violations of the truce, despite the Kremlin repeatedly excluding Western forces from being deployed to Ukraine as peacekeepers.

“We agree with the proposal to stop the fight, but we are from the assumption that the ceasefire should bring lasting peace and eliminate the root causes of the crisis,” Putin said. War and his full invasion This triggered Ukraine.

He said that although the United States clearly convinced Ukraine to accept the ceasefire, Kiev was interested in a truce due to the situation on the battlefield.

“In this case, I think a ceasefire of at least 30 days is beneficial to the Ukrainian side to ensure the ceasefire,” he said.

Putin discussed a 30-day ceasefire hours after a senior U.S. envoy arrived in Moscow, and less than a day, he visited Kursk's commander for the first time, dressed in military fatigue and promised to re-take the area all.

On Wednesday, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News that Russian troops have made “huge gains” in Kursk in the past week. Russia has been manipulating Ukrainian forces, who launched a surprise invasion on Kursk a few months ago, and they did so successfully that the Ukrainians would likely have to decide to return to Ukraine soon or later, or to break from the supply line.

Amid Mr. Trump's rapid end to diplomacy War triggered by Russian full-scale invasion On February 24, 2022, the United States ceased military aid and intelligence sharing to Kiev on March 3 after canceling progress in stopping combat during talks held by senior U.S. officials and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.

“It's up to Russia now,” Mr Trump said on Wednesday, whose administration urged Moscow to agree to a ceasefire. If the U.S. president refuses to interact with his peace efforts, he said: “Finally, we can do something bad for Russia. It's devastating for Russia. But I don't want to do it because I want to see peace, it's devastating.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Mr. Trump's special envoy against Russia and Ukraine, Steve Witkoff, will travel to Moscow to hold talks with Russian officials, possibly including Putin. His plane landed in Moscow on Thursday morning, but his schedule was not disclosed.

Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin language foreign policy aide, said after meeting with Mike Waltz, U.S. national security adviser for Moscow Vitkoff on Thursday that the U.S. proposal for a one-month ceasefire failed to take into account Russia's position and needed to work again, according to Russian media.

According to the Russian state-run RIA news agency, Uskov said: “In my opinion, the document has a hasty character.”
It is also necessary to work, think about and consider our position. It only outlines the Ukrainian approach. ”

The Kremlin repeatedly ruled out accepting any agreement to see Western forces deployed in Ukraine to help maintain peace, but many European countries say the words are needed, although only Britain and France suggest any willingness to do so.

By sending a signal Opening remarksUkraine showed the Kremlin a dilemma when the Russian military prevailed in the war – whether to accept a truce and abandon hope for new gains, or to refuse a cautious reconciliation with Washington.

The Ukrainian army's foothold within Russia has been under tremendous pressure with the renewed efforts of the Russian troops and the support of the North Korean troops. Ukraine's bold invasion last August caused foreign troops to occupy Russian soil for the first time since World War II and embarrass the Kremlin.

But, given the recent Russian advances, Putin doesn't look like an interested man, who visited Kursk's troops on Wednesday, dressed in military fatigue and spoke to the commander, who ordered his troops to put down their weapons on Wednesday. He said he hopes the military “to completely release the enemy in the Kursk region in the near future.”

Putin added that “it is necessary to consider creating a safe zone alongside the state border”, a signal that Moscow could try to expand its territorial gains by capturing parts of Ukraine’s neighboring Sumi region. This idea could complicate the ceasefire agreement.

Ukraine launched a summer raid on Kursk to oppose growing frontline news and drove Russian troops away from the battlefields within Ukraine and gain bargaining chips in any peace negotiations. But the invasion failed to significantly change the driving force of war.

Ukraine's senior military chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi said late Wednesday that Sudzha was almost completely destroyed by the Air Russia strike against Kursk. Instead of commenting on whether Ukraine still controls the solution, he said it was a “more favorable route to go (the army).

Meanwhile, Major General Dmitro Krasirnikov, commander of the Northern Operations Command of Ukraine, was fired for his position, and he told Ukrainian media on Wednesday. He told the media that he had no reason to be fired, saying, “I guess I'm guessing, but I don't want to talk about it.”

Tucker Reals, Eleanor Watson and Holly Williams contributed to the report.