Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed holding direct negotiations with Ukraine to discuss extending a moratorium on strikes against specific targets.
Putin said fighting had resumed after his surprise 30-hour ceasefire, which he announced unilaterally on Saturday. Both sides had accused each other of violating Putin’s truce, which Kyiv had largely dismissed from the outset as a stunt.
Speaking to a Russian state TV reporter, Putin said Moscow was open to any peace initiatives and expected the same from Kyiv.
“We always have a positive attitude towards a truce, which is why we came up with such an initiative, especially since we are talking about the bright Easter days,” Putin said.
Asked about Zelenskiy’s proposed 30-day truce on civilian targets, he said: “This is all a subject for careful study, perhaps even bilaterally. We do not rule this out.”
His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, later confirmed that Putin was referring to the possibility of direct talks with Ukraine. The two sides are not known to have held any such talks since a failed peace effort in the early months of the war three years ago.
“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 said, according to Interfax news agency.
There was no immediate response from Kyiv to Putin’s remarks. A spokeswoman for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Washington said it would welcome an extension of the truce. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for it to be extended into a 30-day ceasefire protecting civilian targets.
