Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Moscow was in favor of the principle of a ceasefire in the war against Ukraine, as proposed by the Donald Trump administration in the United States, but raised questions he said the Kremlin needed answers to before it could commit to a truce.
He stated that Russia needed to discuss these questions and the terms of a peace proposal with the US. His comments, the first on the proposed ceasefire, drew criticism from Ukraine and a muted response from Trump, who has oscillated between expressing confidence in Putin’s commitment to a peace deal and threatening Russia with new sanctions if it does not agree to a ceasefire.
Here is what Putin said, the conditions he laid out for Moscow to back a ceasefire, and how the US and Ukraine have reacted to his recent statement:
What is the US-Ukraine Ceasefire Deal?
On Tuesday, teams representing Washington and Kyiv met in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah to negotiate terms for peace in Ukraine. After this meeting, the two countries released a joint statement, proposing an “immediate, interim” 30-day ceasefire on the war front.
The statement emphasized “the exchange of prisoners of war, the release of civilian detainees, and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children” during the ceasefire period.
The document did not mention sanctions on Russia or security guarantees for Ukraine, but it did note that Ukraine’s European allies would be “involved in the peace process.” The document also did not specify what would happen with the Ukrainian soldiers in Russia’s Kursk.
What did Putin say about the Ceasefire?
Nothing, for almost two days.
