In A Rare Shift, Russia’s Putin Says He's 'Open To Direct Peace Talks' With Ukraine

Last Updated:April 22, 2025, 00:25 IST

Putin, speaking to a Russian state TV reporter, said fighting had resumed after his surprise 30-hour Easter ceasefire, which he announced unilaterally on Saturday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (AP Image)

Russia-Ukraine War: For the first time since the Russia-Ukraine war began in 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday proposed to hold “direct peace talks" bilaterally with Ukraine, saying that he is open to more ceasefires after a one-day Easter truce.

The Russian leader, speaking to a Russian state TV reporter, said fighting had resumed after his surprise 30-hour Easter ceasefire, which he announced unilaterally on Saturday, news agency Reuters reported.

In his comments, Putin said Moscow was open to any peace initiatives and expected the same from Kyiv. “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," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Interfax news agency.

The decision came after US President Donald Trump said that the US will “take a pass" on brokering further Russia-Ukraine talks if Moscow or Kyiv “make it very difficult" to reach a peace deal.

Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had warned that the US could end its peace efforts on ending the conflict within “days" if there are no signs of progress. “We’re not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end," Rubio had said, adding that the US had “other priorities to focus on".

Asked about Trump’s remarks on a possible peace deal soon, Peskov told reporters that he would make no comments, "especially about the timeframe". “President Putin and the Russian side remain open to seeking a peaceful settlement. We are continuing to work with the American side and, of course, we hope that this work will yield results," he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that Kyiv would be sending a delegation to London to meet with the United States and other Western countries on Wednesday. However, the Ukrainian leader made no reference to Putin’s remarks on bilateral talks in his comments.

The London talks are a follow-up to a meeting in Paris last week in which the US and European states discussed ways to end the more than three-year-old war.

Zelenskyy accused Russia on Sunday of creating a false appearance of honouring an Easter ceasefire, saying Moscow continued to launch attacks after Putin’s announcement.

Washington said it would welcome an extension of the truce. Zelenskyy, who has called for it to be extended to a 30-day ceasefire on civilian targets, said continued Russian attacks during Sunday’s ceasefire showed Moscow was intent on prolonging the war.

“As of Easter morning, we can say that the Russian army is trying to create a general impression of a ceasefire, but in some places, it does not abandon individual attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine," Zelenskyy had said in a post on X.

On the other hand, Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had shot at Russian positions 444 times and said it had counted more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks, saying also that there were deaths and injuries among the civilian population.

What’s The US Brokered Peace Deal?

Earlier in March, American diplomats and their Ukrainian counterparts held two rounds of deliberations in Saudi Arabia to discuss measures to halt the Ukraine war.

Later Zelenskyy held a telephonic conversation with Trump where the former had agreed to accept the unconditional ceasefire proposal as proposed by the US. The Ukrainian President had said that Kyiv was ready to pause strikes on Russian energy and civilian infrastructure.

However, Putin demurred and said it was a complicated matter.

After Putin’s rejection, top Moscow officials have attempted to shift the blame onto the Ukrainian government and European leaders, claiming that they are desperate to keep fighting and that only Russia is willing to negotiate a peace deal. For a broader peace deal, Russia has insisted on total neutrality for Ukraine, a drastically reduced military, the removal of its current elected government as well as control of the five regions of the country it has illegally annexed (but doesn’t entirely control).

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has placed a number of conditions on any potential ceasefire.

(With inputs from agencies)

Moscow, Russia

News world In A Rare Shift, Russia’s Putin Says He's 'Open To Direct Peace Talks' With Ukraine