The Kremlin says that it is open to direct the talks with Ukraine, but refused to support kyiv’s proposal to extend the Easter ceasefire.
Vladimir Putin spokesperson told journalists in Moscow on Tuesday that there were no concrete plans for negotiations on the strike against civil targets, but that the Russian president was willing to discuss it directly with Ukraine if Kyiv suppressed “certain obstacles”.
Although rare, it is not unprecedented for Putin to suggest direct talks with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russia frequently said that it was open to talks with Ukraine, but that kyiv made this legally impossible under a decree in 2022 prohibiting negotiations with Putin. The Russian leader previously suggested that Ukraine must hold elections and choose a new president before such discussions can take place.
There was no official direct talks between the two parties since the first weeks after the large -scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022.
On Monday evening, Zelenskyy reiterated Ukraine’s desire for immediate discussions to end attacks against civil infrastructure. “Ukraine maintains its proposal not to hit the civil targets at the very least. And we expect a clear response from Moscow. We are ready for any conversation on how to achieve it,” he said.
Putin and Zelenskyy both recently appeared more positive on the perspective of peace talks, probably in response to the growing pressure of the Trump administration, which said that it could abandon its mediation efforts unless concrete progress is made.
The two parties reported a decrease in fighting during the Easter break, although everyone accused the other of raping the temporary ceasefire.
Speaking on Russian television on Monday, Putin said that Russia had “a positive attitude towards all peace initiatives”.
However, he has given no indication that he is ready to retreat from some of his maximalist requests to end the war, including the demilitarization of Ukraine and the complete Russian control of the four Ukrainian regions annexed in 2022.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials are expected to meet Western allies in London on Wednesday for talks led by the United States to end the war.
The meeting is expected to follow last week’s discussions in Paris, where US Secretary of State Marco Rubio presented Washington’s proposed plan for conflict resolution.
Media relationships suggest that the United States promotes a “peace agreement” which strongly promotes Russia. The proposal would include the freezing of the conflict along the current first line line of 1,000 km, recognizing Crimea as part of Russia, and a Russian veto on Ukraine joining NATO.
Kyiv should respond to the proposal during talks in London.
