- Friday, March 14, 2025
Washington and Ukraine both endorsed a 30-day temporary truce following a meeting between their respective delegations in Saudi Arabia
By: India Weekly
IN his first public remarks on Ukraine’s ceasefire proposal, Russian president Vladimir Putin thanked world leaders, including US president Donald Trump and prime minister Narendra Modi for their efforts to end the fighting between Ukraine and Russia.
During a joint press conference with Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow on Thursday (13), Putin confirmed that Russia is ready to discuss a ceasefire, but the terms should be clarified.
The Russian leader has said last July that Moscow is not interested in short-term pauses, but is ready to engage on addressing the root causes of the conflict, RT News reported.
Washington and Ukraine both endorsed a 30-day temporary truce following a meeting between their respective delegations in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday (11).
Trump welcomed Ukraine’s agreement and hoped that Russia would also agree as the ‘horrible war’ has killed soldiers of both countries.
His envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday (13) to discuss the plan, which Kyiv has endorsed on the condition that Moscow also backs it.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday (14) that Putin had held late-night talks in Moscow with Witkoff to discuss the US proposal.
Putin said, “Before I assess how I view Ukraine’s readiness for a ceasefire, I would first like to begin by thanking the president of the United States, Trump, for paying so much attention to resolving the conflict in Ukraine.”
“We all have enough issues to deal with. But many heads of state, the president of the People’s Republic of China, the prime minister of India, the presidents of Brazil and South African Republic are spending a lot of time dealing with this issue. We are thankful to all of them, because this is aimed at achieving a noble mission, a mission to stop hostilities and the loss of human lives,” Putin said.
“Secondly, we agree with the proposals to stop hostilities. But our position is that this ceasefire should lead to a long-term peace and eliminate the initial causes of this crisis.”
Since the Ukraine conflict began in February last year, Modi has spoken to Putin as well as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky a number of times.
During a meeting with Trump at the White House last month, Modi stressed that “India is not neutral” in its stand on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“India is siding with peace. I have already said to president Putin that this is not the era of war. I support the efforts taken by president Trump,” the prime minister had said.
Russia’s concerns
Putin said that he had “serious questions” about Washington’s plan for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine but Moscow was ready to discuss it with Trump.
Putin said he was “for” the proposed ceasefire, but that “there are nuances” and he had “serious questions” about how it would work.
Zelensky condemned Putin’s comments as “very manipulative”, suggesting in his nightly address that Putin is “actually preparing a refusal”, but “is afraid to say directly to president Trump”.
Putin said a ceasefire was “the right idea”, but would benefit Ukraine at a point when its troops are suffering setbacks. He also questioned how a ceasefire would be monitored along a front line measuring thousands of kilometres.
Trump said Putin’s statement was “promising” but “not complete”.
“A lot of the details of a final agreement have actually been discussed. Now we’re going to see if Russia is there and, if not, it will be a very disappointing moment for the world,” Trump said.
“I’d love to meet with him or talk to him. But we have to get it over with fast.” (Agencies)
