Ukraine: Putin says ceasefire must lead to lasting peace

Russian officials have communicated to the United States that they don't want US Russia-Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg involved in top-level talks aimed at ending the Ukraine war.

Kellogg, who Trump appointed as the special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, has been absent from some high-level discussions, including recent US-Ukraine and US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks Kellogg, a former lieutenant general, is "too close to Ukraine," a Russian source told US broadcaster NBC.

Kellogg has at times been more critical of the Russian invasion of Ukraine than other officials in the Trump administration.

For instance, he sharply criticized Russia for large-scale attacks on Ukrainian cities at Christmastime last year.

More recently though, Kellogg said Ukraine was responsible for the US decision to pause sharing intelligence with Kyiv — although the US has since lifted these restrictions.

"Very candidly, they brought it on themselves," Kellogg told Canada's public broadcaster CBC a week ago.

It was not immediately clear if Kellogg's absence from the top-level talks was linked to the Russian officials' request, nor was it clear when the request was made, according to Reuters news agency.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she thinks Russia will agree to the US proposal for a ceasefire with Ukraine but with added conditions.

Speaking on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers' summit in Canada, Kallas said the United States has told members it understands Russia may be playing a game to extend the ceasefire negotiation process by blurring the picture of the situation on the ground in Ukraine.

She also said the red line for Ukraine is giving away territory to Russia, according to Reuters news agency.

Without the EU, any deal cannot be implemented because there are elements for which Europe has the card, Kallas added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he supported the idea of a ceasefire, but that he had many questions about how it would work (see entries below). 

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The crown prince said Saudi Arabia is committed to enabling dialogue and pushing for a resolution to the war in Ukraine, the Saudi state news agency reported on Friday.

Saudi Arabia recently hosted meetings of US and Russian officials, and representatives of the United States and Ukraine.

Security expert Dmitri Alperovitch says Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want to reject a US-proposed ceasefire because he ultimately wants an end to US sanctions.

"He feels like he cannot say no to [US President] Donald Trump right now," Alperovitch told DW in an interview. 

"The bigger prize now … is the improved relationship between the United States and Russia," he said.

Putin may think "I cannot antagonize Donald Trump, I need to play ball, I will say yes, but with many conditions."

Alperovitch, who is the chair of the geopolitical think tank Silverado Policy Accelerator, said he believed a temporary ceasefire could come sooner rather than later, but that it would likely not mean an end to the entire war. 

"The two sides are still very, very far apart," he said, adding that the 30-day ceasefire proposal does not make concessions to some of Putin's biggest demands, such as blocking Ukraine from NATO and EU accession. 

"I think [Trump)]is going to be very focused on how do we get this done. … There will be many conditions he will try to put on Ukraine to get this 30-day ceasefire."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia's leader Vladimir Putin wants to reject the ceasefire proposal by the United States, but is scared to directly say it to President Donald Trump.

According to Zelenskyy, Russia is setting conditions to delay the ceasefire, or alternatively, make it not happen at all. 

"He is in fact preparing a rejection at present, because Putin is of course scared to tell President Trump that he wants to continue this war, that he wants to kill Ukrainians," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.

"We now have all heard from Russia Putin's very predictable, very manipulative words in response to the idea of a ceasefire," he added.

Earlier Thursday, Putin said at a press conference that he agreed in principle with the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, but he also stressed that there were many "serious questions" that still needed to be settled. 

"We proceed from the assumption that the ceasefire should lead to lasting peace and remove the root causes of the crisis," Putin said.

The Russian president also questioned whether Ukraine could use the 30-day ceasefire to mobilize and rearm.

Zelenskyy said in his address that a ceasefire would give time "to prepare answers to all questions regarding long-term security and a real, reliable peace and put on the table a plan to end the war."

Ukraine has ordered the evacuation of eight villages close to the border with Russia's Kursk region, where the Russian army has been pushing back Ukrainian forces.

The Sumy region's military administration said on social media that the decision is a result of the "exacerbation of the operational situation in the region" and the "constant shelling by Russia."

Ukraine staged a surprise incursion into Kursk in western Russia last August.

At a press conference in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would welcome back Western companies if they wanted to return to Russia.

Putin said that markets left behind by Western companies had already been taken over by domestic producers, adding that Moscow would not be creating any special conditions for foreign companies that returned.

"To those (companies) who want to return, we say: Welcome, welcome at any moment," Putin said, using the English word welcome.

Putin also said that if Russia and the US could agree on energy cooperation, his government would be willing to resume gas supplies to Europe as well.

US President Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin's reaction to the US-brokered ceasefire proposal with Ukraine "very promising," but he added that "it wasn't complete."

"A lot of the details of a final agreement have actually been discussed," Trump said, adding that should Russia not agree to the proposal, it would be a "very disappointing moment for the world."

On the possibility of a meeting with Putin, Trump said he was considering it.

"I'd love to meet with him or talk to him. But we have to get it over with fast," he said.

"Hopefully they'll do the right thing," Trump told reporters regarding Russia, adding that long term, he did not think Russia would attack US allies.

"It's not going to happen. We'll make sure it doesn't happen," Trump added.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who arrived in Moscow on Thursday afternoon, is engaged in serious talks with Russian representatives around the proposal, the US president said.

News outlets reported that Witkoff was expected to meet Putin on Thursday night.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to reporters at a news conference in the Kremlin, following talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

"We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities," Putin said.

"But we proceed from the fact that this cessation should be such that it would lead to long-term peace and would eliminate the root causes of the crisis."

The remarks come a day after Putin wore green camouflage uniform to visit a command post in the Kursk region of western Russia, where Russian troops have been fighting to regain from Ukrainian control.

Europe is in a position to compensate if the US permanently ends its financial military aid for Ukraine, an analysis released by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) in Germany showed on Thursday.  

"Our data shows that Europe would be able to compensate for much of the US aid — but only if policymakers act decisively," Christoph Trebesch, research director at IfW Kiel, said.

The only exception would be in the field of military intelligence, where Europe would have to rapidly build up capabilities if it wanted to match those of the US, the analysis said. 

It said European countries would have to increase their current spending on bilateral aid to Ukraine from the current €44 billion ($48 billion) annually to €82 billion to make up the deficit. Germany would need to raise its spending from €6 billion to at least €9 billion.

The IfW Kiel said Europe could purchase military systems and ammunition comparable to that provided by the US by turning to the international market, among other things.

The institute also suggested that European countries could order for weapons directly from Ukraine. This particularly applied to drones, it said, as Ukraine had "built up an extremely innovative and productive industry" in this field.

Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy who is to discuss the ceasefire proposal with Russian officials in Moscow on Thursday, could also meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, US and Russian sources have said.

Witkoff's arrival, first reported by Russian media, has since been confirmed by a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.

The official also said the envoy was expected to meet with Putin.

A Kremlin aide, Yuri Ushakov, said a meeting with the Russian president could not be "ruled out."

Ushakov said the ceasefire proposal did not consider Russian "interests" and might only serve to give Ukrainian forces some respite from fighting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that the lack of any concrete response to the ceasefire proposal from Moscow indicated a desire on the Kremlin's part to keep going with its invasion of Ukraine.

"Regrettably, for more than a day already, the world has yet to hear a meaningful response from Russia to the proposals made. This once again demonstrates that Russia seeks to prolong the war and postpone peace for as long as possible," he said in a statement on social media.

"We hope that US pressure will be sufficient to compel Russia to end the war," he added.

Zelenskyy's remarks come as a US negotiating team has reportedly arrived in Moscow to discuss the ceasefire proposal, which was agreed earlier this week by the US and Ukraine, with Russian officials.

 

Ukraine has accused Russian forces of executing five more captured Ukrainian soldiers.

Ukrainian rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on social media that Russian forces "continue to kill Ukrainian prisoners of war," without specifying where the alleged killings took place.

"Another video of the alleged execution of unarmed Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russians is circulating on social media," he wrote.

The UN last month sounded the alarm over what it called an "alarming rise" in executions of captured Ukrainian troops, saying it had recorded dozens of such killings in recent months.

A top Kremlin aide has seemed to cast further doubt on the acceptability of the ceasefire proposal to Moscow by saying such a truce would be "nothing other than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military."

In comments made in a TV interview, Yuri Ushakov said he had stated Russia's view on the proposal at a meeting with US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on Wednesday.   

"It seems to me that no one needs any steps that (merely) imitate peaceful actions in this situation," he said.

Ushakov said any peace settlement must properly consider Russia's "interests."

"That is what we are striving for. A peaceful settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of our country," he said, adding that President Vladimir Putin would later "probably make more specific and substantive assessments."

The remarks come as a US negotiating team is to hold talks with Russian officials in Moscow on the ceasefire proposal agreed between Washington and Kyiv earlier this week.

 

Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that if other countries sent peacekeepers to Ukraine, they would be taking part in a "direct armed conflict" with Moscow,

"It is absolutely unacceptable to us that army units of other states are stationed in Ukraine under any flag," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "All this would mean the involvement of these countries in a direct armed conflict with our country."

She said Russia would respond to such moves with "all available means."

Ukraine has asked its European allies to send military "contingents" to its territory if peace is established to protect the country against future attacks from Russia.
Zakharova also criticized plans by European countries to boost their defense spending. 

She said a proposal by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to put together a package of €800 billion ($869 billion) for European defense amounted to the "the incitement of war on the European continent."

Zakahrova also accused Europe of spreading false narratives that Russia was a danger to the continent's security.

"This is a deliberately invented story based on Russophobia, which is promoted by inadequate Brussels officials," she said.