Putin says ‘yes’ to ceasefire – however lays down unimaginable phrases for Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has endorsed US plans for a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine – but has insisted he will do so only on his terms.

The Russian president made a series of demands for concessions from Ukraine’s President Zelensky, which some experts said would amount to a “surrender” by Ukraine.

Mr Putin said: “We agree with the proposals for the ceasefire, but our position is based on the assumption the ceasefire will lead to a long-term peace.”

Any such agreement had to address the “root causes” of the conflict, he said at a press conference.

Mr Putin said he was broadly in favour of Donald Trump’s proposed 30-day truce, which Mr Zelensky has approved. But the Russian leader said there were “nuances” that had to be dealt with.

He has repeatedly insisted any temporary ceasefire could proceed only if he was given a guarantee that Ukraine would not join Nato, and he is adamant that Ukraine will not be given back land seized by Russia.

He said “serious questions” remained over how the ceasefire would be implemented.

Mr Putin’s response drew criticism from leading diplomats and pundits.

Former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul told the BBC: “We are forcing Ukraine to surrender. Putin is occupying their territory, denying them their sovereignty to choose their alliances, he is now telling them they cannot even import weapons.

“That’s not a great deal from Zelensky’s perspective.”

Vitaly Shevchenko, the Russian editor for BBC Monitoring, said Mr Putin’s response to the ceasefire plan was “a ‘no’ disguised as a ‘yes’”.

Mr Shevchenko added: “The conditions he is putting forward for Ukraine would be devastating to accept. No more weapons supplies, no more mobilisation, surrender rather than withdrawal of Ukrainian troops in Kursk region.”

Mr Putin’s demand for the “root causes” of the dispute to be addressed was a coded demand to be allowed to achieve his initial aim in invading Ukraine, to wipe it off the map, said Mr Shevchenko.

The Russian president warned Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk to “surrender or die”. He said the proposal for the ceasefire, agreed in talks between Washington and Kyiv in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, was “good, and we absolutely support it”.

Russian forces have been advancing since the middle of last year, and now control nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, three years after the Kremlin sent tens of thousands of troops to invade the country.

At the same time, Ukrainian forces are losing ground in the Kursk region amid a major Russian offensive to recapture land which Kyiv had hoped could be a crucial bargaining chip in peace negotiations.

Mr Putin asked: “If we ceased hostilities for 30 days, would it mean that everybody there would leave? Should we release them after they committed serious crimes against civilians there?

“How will other aspects be dealt with along with 2,000km contact line? As you know, the Russian troops are advancing practically in every sector of the contact line, and all the conditions are there for us to besiege fairly large [Ukrainian] units.

“So what would happen during those 30 days?”

Ukraine is likely to see Mr Putin’s stance as an attempt to buy time while Russian troops squeeze the last Ukrainian troops out of western Russia and Moscow sticks to demands that Kyiv regards as seeking its capitulation.

Mr Putin also held out the idea of building a gas pipeline to Europe, because, he said, it needs cheap Russian gas.

Ukrainian troops stranded in Kursk would need to “surrender or die”, the Russian president warned. “The situation is fully under our control and the group that invaded our territory has been isolated, fully isolated,” he said.

Any ceasefire negotiations would depend on the situation on the ground.

After Mr Putin’s press conference, which was held with Belarusian president and ally Alexander Lukashenko, he was set to hold a meeting with US president Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Those discussions, behind closed doors in Moscow, were expected to focus on some of the details of the proposals.

The Russian leader thanked Mr Trump for “giving so much attention to a settlement in Ukraine”.

Asked about the prospect of the US lifting sanctions, he said any companies that wanted to return to Russia would be welcomed.

But sanctions on Russia, he said, had “created Russia’s independence and our sovereignty”.

He reminded the world that tactical nuclear arms have been deployed in Belarus.

Earlier, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Kremlin of wanting to postpone a truce.

“Regrettably, for more than a day already, the world has yet to hear a meaningful response from Russia to the proposals made,” he wrote on social media.

“This once again demonstrates that Russia seeks to prolong the war and postpone peace for as long as possible. We hope that US pressure will be sufficient to compel Russia to end the war.

“Our team is prepared to continue working constructively with all partners in America, Europe, and other parts of the world who are committed to bringing peace closer.”

Mr Trump said Mr Witkoff was in serious discussions with Russia about ending the war.

The president, who said he was willing to talk to the Russian leader by phone, called Mr Putin’s statement “very promising” but said it was not complete.

“Hopefully, they’ll do the right thing,” he said during a meeting with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte.

He said he did not believe Russia would attack US allies. “It’s not going to happen. We’ll make sure it doesn’t happen,” he said.

Source: independent.co.uk