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Vladimir Putin said he was “ready to work” with Kyiv on possible future peace talks to end the war in Ukraine but did not outline any substantive change in the Kremlin’s stance, after a phone call with Donald Trump.
Speaking on Monday after the two-hour call, the Russian president said Moscow was prepared to work on a memorandum to frame future talks, which could include a possible ceasefire “for a certain amount of time”.
He told a state media reporter that he spoke to Trump in a “very candid and therefore very useful” conversation. But he did not announce any major shifts in Russia’s position on the war in Ukraine.
“We agreed with the US President that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum about the possible future peace agreement,” Putin said.
The Russian president said the memorandum would include “the principles on which a peace agreement would be based, the timing of a possible peace agreement” and “a possible ceasefire for a certain amount of time, if certain agreements are reached”.
However, Putin added that Russia’s main objective was “to eliminate the root causes of this crisis”, in language that signalled that his key demands remain unchanged.
Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have accelerated in recent weeks, with Russia and Ukraine holding direct talks in Istanbul on Friday, their first since the start of the three-year war.
Trump vowed to end the war on day one of his second term but peace has proven elusive, with both sides still far apart.
In European capitals, leaders fear that Trump could cut a deal with Putin that accedes to his maximalist demands and sells out Ukraine’s interests in his haste to end the fighting.
This is a developing story
