President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia agreed with US proposals to stop fighting but added that any ceasefire should lead to lasting peace and address the root causes of the conflict.
“We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities,” Putin said at a news conference in the Kremlin after talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
“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 was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters in its report.
Russian forces have been advancing since mid-2024 and now control nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, three years into a war that US President Donald Trump has said he will stop.
Trump said at 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 thanked Trump for his efforts to end the war.
“The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it,” Putin said. “But there are issues that we need to discuss. And I think we need to talk to our American colleagues as well,” he added.
Putin said he might call Trump to discuss the issue. “We support the idea of ending this conflict by peaceful means,” he said.
Putin visited a command post in Russia’s western Kursk region on Wednesday, wearing green camouflage uniform. The visit came as Russian forces continued their offensive in an area where Ukraine is expected to lose its foothold.
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