Putin Supports a 30-Day Truce with Ukraine, but Imposes Conditions

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his willingness on Thursday, March 13, to accept the US proposal for a temporary cessation of hostilities with his rival, but warned that it will only take effect if the underlying causes of the conflict, still unresolved, are addressed, among other requests.

Yes, but with conditions. This was Russian President Vladimir Putin's response to his US counterpart Donald Trump's proposal to pause the war in Ukraine for 30 days.

Some of these: that the truce paves the way for a lasting peace and that Ukraine does not use it to rearm; that negotiations address the root causes of the conflict take place; and that his forces succeed in expelling Ukrainian troops from the Kursk border region.

"We agree with the proposals for a cessation of hostilities," Putin told reporters at a press conference in the Kremlin after meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday, March 13.

During the conference, Putin praised the troops who have made rapid advances in Kursk in recent days, before declaring that "depending on how the situation on the ground develops, we will agree on the next steps to end the conflict and reach agreements acceptable to all."

Kursk has been the scene of fierce fighting after falling to Ukrainian troops following a surprise incursion in August 2024. Since then, it has become one of kyiv's few trump cards in the game when negotiating territory with Moscow, which in turn claims to have recovered a large portion of this region, including the key town of Sudzha.

A Lasting Peace, Another of Trump's Demands

Another of the Kremlin leader's conditions is that the negotiations lead to a lasting, rather than temporary, peace. "There are issues we need to discuss, and I think we need to talk about them with our American colleagues and partners."

"Perhaps we should have a call with President Trump to discuss this with him," he added. White House special envoy Steve Witkoff is in Moscow and is scheduled to meet with Vladimir Putin this Thursday, according to Russian media.

A few hours after Putin's statement, and just as he was about to begin a meeting this Thursday in the Oval Office with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Donald Trump called it "very promising, but incomplete."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already accepted the US proposal, while his American counterpart has agreed to hold a telephone conversation with Putin to convince him.

Russia invites Western companies to return

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, is the largest European conflict since World War II and has so far left hundreds of thousands dead. of dead and wounded, as well as millions displaced and massive destruction in dozens of cities.

It also sparked the sharpest confrontation between Moscow and the West in decades, triggering a massive flight of companies and the application of a cascade of sanctions that sought to stifle the Russian economy.

This Thursday, the Russian president stated that he would welcome Western companies back, although he warned them that the markets had been absorbed by domestic producers and that Moscow would not create special conditions for their return.

To companies that want to return, we say: Welcome, welcome at any time!

The president added that if Moscow and Washington had reached an agreement on energy cooperation, gas supplies to Europe could resume, which would represent a very significant milestone considering that, after the war began, Russia lost its position as Europe's main supplier.