Russia’s President Vladimir Putin attends a signing ceremony and a press conference following a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 13, 2025. MAXIM SHEMETOV / AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday, March 13, 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 Russian soldiers were currently in the midst of an offensive aimed at driving Kyiv out 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.”

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He added, “I think we need to talk to our American colleagues… Maybe have a phone call with President Trump and discuss this with him.”

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.

‘Manipulative’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Putin’s ambivalent response as “very manipulative.” “We now have all heard from Russia Putin’s very predictable, very manipulative words in response to the idea of a ceasefire,” Zelensky said in his nightly address. “We do not set conditions that complicate anything. Russia does that,” Zelensky said.

“As we have always said, the only one who will drag things out, the only one who will be unconstructive, is Russia.” Zelensky accused Putin of “actually preparing a refusal” but claimed he was “afraid to say directly to President Trump that he wants to continue this war.” He also said Putin was “framing the idea of a ceasefire with such preconditions that nothing will work out at all, or for as long as possible.”

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Trump for his part said that Putin had made “a very promising statement,” adding that “it wasn’t complete.”

“I’d love to meet with him or talk to him. But we have to get it [a ceasefire deal] over with fast,” Trump, who was meeting NATO chief Mark Rutte at the White House, told reporters when asked about Putin’s remarks.

Trump added that it would be “a very disappointing moment for the world” if Russia rejects the peace plan. “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.

He also gave a glimpse of the negotiations for a longer-term peace after any ceasefire, including what territory Ukraine would have to give up to Russia. “We have not been working in the dark. We’ve been discussing with Ukraine land and pieces of land that would be kept and lost,” he said.

Trump added that there was also “a very big power plant involved – who’s going to get the power plant?” Trump did not give any specifics but the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently held by Russia, is on the front lines of the fighting. It is Europe’s largest nuclear power station.

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