OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
5:00 PM – Thursday, March 13, 2025
Regarding the recent proposal for a 30-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia is “for it,” but that he needs his own security assurances — in his first public comments.
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As Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, arrived in Moscow on Thursday to discuss the idea, Putin questioned the 30-day truce during a press briefing.
Witkoff landed in Russia after flying in from Qatar, where he was also involved in indirect talks between both Israel and Hamas, Newsweek reported.
“It seems to me, it would be very good for the Ukrainian side to reach a truce for at least 30 days. And we are for it. But there is a nuance,” Putin stated, highlighting concerns regarding the Kursk region. Kursk is a city in western Russia.
“If we stop the hostilities for 30 days, what does it mean? Does it mean that everyone who is there will leave without a fight?” Putin asked. “Or the Ukrainian leadership will give them an order to lay down their arms and just surrender? How will it be? It is not clear.”
Putin said he also wanted a guarantee that Ukraine won’t regroup during a 30-day truce, and he questioned which party would decide whether the ceasefire had been broken—if it were to break for any reason.
“These are all issues that require careful investigation from both sides,” Putin said.
Putin suggested that he should speak with Trump to further discuss his concerns, noting, “But the idea itself is to end this conflict with peaceful means. We support it.”
“We believe that this ceasefire should lead to a long-term peace and eliminate the initial causes of this crisis,” Putin continued.
Washington, D.C. leaders also believe this could pave the way for a bigger peace agreement — working to eventually end the three-year-old conflict as soon as possible.
The trip is “part of our continued efforts to press Russia to agree to a ceasefire and stop its brutal war against Ukraine,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a press briefing on Wednesday.
Witkoff will have a closed-door meeting with Putin in the evening on Thursday. However, Trump will not be speaking with Putin on that day, according to reports.
“Hopefully they will do the right thing,” Trump said, referencing Russia, reiterating that he would like to see the Kremlin accept the 30-day truce.
Soon after, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky boldly described Putin’s remarks as “manipulative” and “very predictable” during his speech on Thursday night.
“Putin, of course, is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war, wants to kill Ukrainians. And that is why they there, in Moscow, are setting the idea of silence with such preconditions that nothing will work out at all or that it will not work out for as long as possible,” Zelensky claimed. “Putin often does this — he does not say ‘no’ directly, but does so in a way that practically only delays everything and makes normal decisions impossible. We believe that all this is now another Russian manipulation.”
Zelensky’s party representative in the Ukrainian Parliament, Yehor Cherniev, also claimed that Russia is attempting to “waste time.”
“They cannot say yes, and they cannot say no. That’s why they will try to find some reasons why they cannot say yes,” Cherniev told ABC News. “And actually, I think they will even put on the table some conditions for this ceasefire, which will be unacceptable for us. And that will be their answer—to put responsibility for the ceasefire on our side.”
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