Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday, for the first time in years, said that he was open to direct peace talks with Ukraine, adding that he was also okay with more ceasefires after the one-day Easter truce.
Speaking to a Russian state TV reporter, Putin said that fighting in Ukraine had resumed after the surprise 30-hour Easter ceasefire, which he and subsequently Ukraine had announced on Saturday.
The Russian president said that Moscow was open to any peace initiatives and expected the same from Kyiv, a Reuters report said.
‘Negotiations, discussions’ with Ukraine
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, as per Interfax news agency, “When the president said that it was possible to discuss the issue of not striking civilian targets, including bilaterally, the president had in mind negotiations and discussions with the Ukrainian side.”
Peskov made no comments with regards to US President Donald Trump’s remark on the possibilities of a peace deal soon, “especially about the timeframe”.
“President Putin and the Russian side remain open to seeking a peaceful settlement. We are continuing to work with the American side and, of course, we hope that will work will yield results,” he added.
The US also said that it would welcome an extension of the truce between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Kyiv was sending a delegation to London to meet with the US and other Western countries’ officials on Wednesday.
The London talks will be a follow-up to the meeting that took place in Paris last week, wherein the US and the European states discussed ways to bring an end to the more than three year-long war.
Notably, Zelensky, who also called for an 30-day extension of the ceasefire on civilian targets, said that Russian attacks continued during Saturday’s truce, showing that Moscow intended on prolonging the war.
In his X post, announcing his delegation for the London talks, Zelensky made no reference to Putin’s bilateral talks invite.
“Ukraine, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States — we are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just as we have done before, to achieve an unconditional ceasefire followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace,” the Ukrainian president wrote.
Earlier on Monday, Zelensky had claimed that the Ukrainian forces were directed to mirror the Russian army’s actions. “The nature of Ukraine’s actions will remain symmetrical: ceasefire will be met with ceasefire, and Russian strikes will be met with our own in defence. Actions always speak louder than words,” he posted on X.
Last week, US president Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Washington could walk away from the peace talks once and for all if no progress would be made within days. On Sunday, however, Trump came up with more optimism, saying that “hopefully” the two sides would make a deal “this week”.
Russia is yet to renegotiate on its demands, including the one where Ukraine should cede all the land Putin claims to have annexed and accepted permanent neutrality. Ukraine said an action like that will equate to surrender and leave it undefended if Moscow attacked again.
According to Zelensky, Ukrainian forces had reported nearly 3,000 ceasefire violations, with the heaviest bit of attacks being seen along the Pokrovsk part of the frontline.
Russia’s defence ministry, on the other hand, said that Ukrainian forces had shot at its positions 444 times and said it counted more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks, adding that deaths and injuries were also reported among the civilian population.
(with Reuters inputs)
