Putin agrees to Ukraine ceasefire

MOSCOW, Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he agrees in principle with a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but the terms need to be worked out, and he emphasized that it should pave the way to lasting peace.

“So the idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it," Putin told a news conference in Moscow. “But there are issues that we need to discuss, and I think that we need to discuss it with our American colleagues and partners.”

He noted the need to develop a mechanism to control possible breaches of the truce. Another issue, he said, is whether Ukraine could use the 30-day ceasefire to continue mobilization and rearmament.

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“We agree with the proposals to halt the fighting, but we proceed from the assumption that the ceasefire should lead to lasting peace and remove the root causes of the crisis,” Putin said.

Putin noted that while it appeared that the U.S. persuaded Ukraine to accept a ceasefire, Ukraine is interested in that because of the battlefield situation, noting that Ukrainian troops that launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region would be fully blocked in the coming days.

“In these conditions, I believe it would be good for the Ukrainian side to secure a ceasefire for at least 30 days,” he said.

Referring to the Ukrainian troops in Kursk, he said: “Will all those who are there come out without a fight?"

Putin thanked U.S. President Donald Trump “for paying so much attention to the settlement in Ukraine.”

He also thanked the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa for their “noble mission to end the fighting to casualties,” a statement that signaled those countries' potential involvement in a ceasefire deal.

Russia has said it will not accept peacekeepers from any NATO members to monitor a prospective truce.