Breaking Thursday, the Russians came out with a huge announcement about its ongoing war with Ukraine:
“We are ready to discuss the initiatives set out there in future contacts with the United States. Such contacts are already possible as early as today,” said Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov also said U.S. negotiators were traveling to Russia midday Thursday, and discussions were planned.
“Negotiators are indeed flying in, and contacts are indeed planned,” Peskov told reporters. “We won’t get ahead of ourselves — we’ll talk about it afterward.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said Russia agrees in principle with the U.S.-led ceasefire plan backed by Ukraine earlier this week, but stopped short of signing up to any deal, arguing that it needed further negotiation and must lead to “enduring peace.”
“The idea [of a ceasefire] itself is correct and we are certainly supporting it, but there are issues that need to be discussed. I think that we need to talk to our American colleagues and partners. Maybe call President Trump and discuss it together. But we support the very idea of ending this conflict through peaceful means,” he said, according to an NBC translation.
“Ukraine agreed to a 30-day cease-fire proposal from the U.S. during talks in Saudi Arabia earlier this week between top officials from both nations. The U.S. said it would present the ceasefire proposal to Russia following the diplomatic breakthrough with Ukraine” writes National Review.
Putin also said a deal must “proceed from the fact that this cessation should be such that it would lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis.”
“We are in favor of it but there are nuances,” he said when asked about the 30-day ceasefire deal brokered by the White House. Kyiv backed the plan on Tuesday, contingent on Moscow’s agreement.
