Moscow:
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he backed the idea of a truce with Ukraine, but said he had “serious questions” about how it would be implemented that he wanted to discuss with Donald Trump.
He was responding to a joint US-Ukrainian plan for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that US special envoy Steve Witkoff is due to present to Russian officials later Thursday.
“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.
“But there are nuances,” he said.
He said Russian soldiers were currently in the midst of an offensive aimed at driving Kyiv out of the Kursk region.
“If we stop hostilities for 30 days, what does that mean? That everyone who is there will go out without a fight?… How will supervision (of the ceasefire) be organised? These are all serious questions.
“I think we need to talk to our American colleagues… Maybe have a phone call with President Trump and discuss this with him,” he told reporters.
He said Russian troops were advancing in practically all areas of the front line and that Moscow would decide its “next steps” based on his forces’ success in kicking Ukrainian troops out of Kursk.
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