 "Putin says Russia 'in favour' of Trump's ceasefire proposal but flags 'serious questions'")
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said he is “in favour” of the US-proposed 30-day ceasefire but added that “there are serious issues that need to be discussed.”
“We agree with proposals to cease hostilities, but on the basis that that cessation would lead to long-term peace and addresses the root causes of the crisis,” Putin told a press conference in Moscow with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
The US has proposed a 30-day-long ceasefire which will end hostilities on the war front temporarily. The plan, backed by Kyiv, will include a truce on the sea, in the air and on land.
The Russian president added that Russian troops are advancing in virtually every part of the front line in Ukraine. He also suggested that Russia would need to negotiate outstanding issues “with our American colleagues and partners” maybe on “a phone call with President Trump.”
He praised the efforts made by Russian troops for “advancing in practically all areas of the contact line.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday to meet Putin. Russian officials said US national security adviser Mike Waltz had provided details on the ceasefire idea on Wednesday and Russia was ready to discuss it.
Trump had said in 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.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia,” Trump said. “I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace. I want to see peace and we’ll see. But in a financial sense, yeah, we could do things very bad for Russia. It would be devastating for Russia.”
With inputs from agencies
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