President Donald Trump said he’s open to talking to Vladimir Putin after the Russian president showed resistance to a ceasefire deal with Ukraine.
‘I’d love to meet with him and talk to him but we have to get it over with fast,’ Trump told reporters in the Oval Office about Putin.
‘We would like to see a ceasefire from Russia,’ the president said.
‘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 hoped for an agreement from Russia on Thursday.
‘We hopefully are going to be in a good position sometime today to have a good idea. We know where we are with Ukraine. We are getting good signals outside of Russia as to where we are with Russia. And hopefully they will do the right thing,’ he said.
President Donald Trump said he’s willing to talk to Vladimir Putin
Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is in Russia to meet with Putin later today. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, where they agreed to a ceasefire.
But Putin indicated hesitation about a deal as his troops continue to march across Ukraine, taking more territory.
He told reporters in Russia he was in ‘favor’ of a 30-day ceasefire ‘but that there are nuances’ and that he had ‘serious questions’ about how it would work.
‘I think we need to talk to our American colleagues… Maybe have a phone call with President Trump and discuss this with him,’ he told reporters.
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.
‘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.
Trump has indicated he’ll hit Russia with sanctions if they don’t agree to a deal.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits troops in Kursk
Putin said any ceasefire must lead to ‘long-term peace’.
Meanwhile, Russia is advancing across ‘practically’ entire front line, Putin claims, adding that he will determine the ‘next steps’ on the ceasefire based on the success of the Kursk campaign.
Putin has a long list of demands from Ukraine that will give Moscow the upper hand.
He wants Ukraine to withdraw from its regions partly occupied by Russia — essentially giving even more land to Moscow — while promising never to join NATO.
Earlier Thursday, Putin visited Kursk, the only region of Russia partly occupied by Ukrainian troops.
