Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a bilateral meeting at the Palais du Grand Kremlin, March 13, 2025, in Moscow, Russia.
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Russia took a calm tone on Friday, but recognized a reason for cautious optimism, after only the support of the “idea” of a 30-day ceasefire in the United States with solid warnings.
“The idea [of a ceasefire] He himself is correct and we certainly support him, but there are problems that must be discussed, “Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, urging new discussions with Washington and a potential call with the White House Donald Trump.
The chief of the Kremlin expressed his concerns that a temporary truce would exercise the Kyiv forces time to “provide weapons” or to “form newly mobilized units” and wondered how the cease-fire would be applied.
Trump, who has declared Washington’s relationship with Moscow since the beginning of January of his second mandate at the presidential office, said Thursday that kyiv and the White House had discussed elements of an agreement including territorial concessions, the fate of an unnamed nuclear power plant – and the adoption of the administration of Russia in Nato.
“Now we will see if Russia is there or not, and if it is not the case, it will be a very disappointing moment for the world,” said Trump. “”[Putin] Turn off a very promising declaration, but it was incomplete. And yes, I would like to meet him or talk to him. “”
President Steve Witkoff’s envoy met Putin in Moscow for direct negotiations on Thursday.
“We have cautious optimism,” said Mike Waltz, US national security advisor, in an interview with Fox News TV. “Of course, the two parties will have their requests, and of course, the two parties will have to make compromises, and the diplomacy of the shuttle to go back and forth occurs.”
The Kremlin has retained a cautious tone on Friday despite Thursday developments.
“There are certainly reasons to be cautiously optimistic,” the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists in the comments translated by Google transported by the Russian state Outlet Tass.
“”[Putin] said he supports President Trump’s position in terms of settlement, but he expressed some questions to answer together, “he added, according to Reuters.” So, yes, indeed, there is still a lot to do, but nevertheless, the president expressed his solidarity with the position of Mr. Trump. “”
“Keep the ceasefire proposal hostage”
The draft ceasefire for negotiation in the United States and Ukraine is a breakthrough in the three-year attrition conflict, which continued with night drone attacks on both sides by Ukrainian And Russian official. The proposal also resets relations in the American-Russia-Ukraine triangle, after an animated clamping of the White House at the end of the end of the end of the end of the end of the end of the end of the end of the end of the end and American military aid, the Ukrainian president seemed ready to penetrate the Washington in the orbite of the Kremlin.
It is now Putin who has to walk lightly with Trump, who ended up the Russian -Ukraine war – and to review the financial contributions of the United States – a priority since its entry into office.
However, some analysts question the fate of the ceasefire agreement, which follows the previous unsuccessful plans of Zelenskyy and China.
“Putin holds the proposal to cease-fire hostage and tries to extract pre-emptive concessions before formal negotiations to end the war,” said the Institute for the Study of War in the analysis, warning that the Kremlin leader is probably “disinterested in peace negotiations in good faith” and always seeks to achieve long-term objectives of Ukrainian denivage.
“Putin’s envisaged ceasefire would grant Russia very disproportionate advantages and set conditions for the Kremlin to renew hostilities with conditions extremely favorable to Russia,” he added.
MOSCOW’s steep terms to begin peace negotiations, ugly out in June last year, included Ukraine’s Complete Military withdrawal from the Russian-Occupied Ukrainian Territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, as well as kyiv’s Join The Nato Military Alliance and Imperil Russian Security-A Key Point Among the Kremlin’s Stated Reasons for Its Full-Fledged Invasion of his neighbor in 2022.