Brussels – For the first time in over three years, Vladimir Putin has signaled a willingness to hold direct talks with Kyiv to reach a truce. For now, however, few believe in the Kremlin’s good faith, while international pressure grows on the White House to quickly reach a sustainable ceasefire.
Talking to state media last night (April 21), the Russian president said the Federation is willing to discuss with the former Soviet republic the possibility of suspending mutual attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure. “We have a positive attitude toward any peace initiative,” he said, hoping “that the regime’s representatives in Kyiv will feel the same way.”
His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed that “the president had in mind negotiations and discussions with the Ukrainian side.” It is the first time since the launch of the large-scale invasion in February 2022 that the Kremlin occupant has made himself available to engage in direct negotiations with Ukraine. In recent times, he has consistently referred to Kyiv’s leadership as a “Nazi regime,” claiming that he does not want to negotiate with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, who is considered illegitimate.
The Ukrainian leader reiterated that he is open to dialogue, claiming that his administration is “ready for any conversation” capable of bringing an end to the conflict closer. He also reiterated the proposal, which the Ukrainian negotiating team accepted last month based on a US proposal (but never seriously considered by the Russian side), of a 30-day pause in air strikes and naval operations in the Black Sea. Relaunching further, Zelensky wrote in X that with the support of its Western allies, Kyiv is willing to work for “an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace.“
Now, after Easter, the whole world can clearly see the real issue — the real reason why the hostilities continue. Russia is the source of this war. It is from Moscow that a real order must come for the Russian army to cease fire. And if there is no such firm Russian order for… pic.twitter.com/jS9cTiRQqd
– Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa) April 21, 2025
In his remarks last night, Putin also referred to a proposal he had made a few days earlier for a truce during the Easter holidays. A limited truce that, however, the Russian army itself did not respect by attacking civilian facilities a week after the bombing on Sumy killed over thirty people.
After all, historically, agreements for the cessation (partial or total) of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine have rarely worked. Ten years after the conclusion of the Budapest Memorandum in 1994 – in which Kyiv ceded to Moscow its nuclear arsenal inherited from the USSR in exchange for an assurance that the Federation would respect the territorial integrity of the former Soviet republic – the Kremlin unilaterally annexed Crimea and then supported pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas.
Since then, two weak peace agreements known as the Minsk Protocols (signed in 2014 and 2015) were supposed to lead to a truce but have been repeatedly violated, with both sides accusing each other. According to Zelensky, the unwieldy neighbor has broken at least 25 times the ceasefire terms agreed upon in the Belarusian capital over the past decade.
At any rate, international pressure is mounting to reach some form of political settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis as quickly as possible. After an apparent slowdown in the wake of the fruitless talks in Riyadh, diplomatic initiatives have multiplied recently with high-level meetings between the top leaders of the US administration and those of France, the United Kingdom, and Germany. These met in Paris last week and will meet again in London tomorrow (April 23) to discuss the next steps with the Ukrainian delegation.
It seems that Donald Trump, who has adopted softer positions towards Moscow than his predecessor and European partners, is losing his patience due to the slow pace of negotiations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that the US could walk away and abandon mediation efforts between the two belligerents if there is no visible progress within “days.” At the same time, the New York-based tycoon reiterated yesterday that he sees “excellent chances” of reaching a ceasefire agreement shortly.
According to the latest reports, the White House has reportedly drawn up a draft peace plan that would include, among other things, the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory de jure and Ukraine’s commitment not to seek NATO membership. Zelensky has long reiterated that he does not intend to cede any of the regions occupied by Moscow and that the North Atlantic Alliance’s security guarantees are the only ones possible to secure the former Soviet republic.
However, it is clear that the Ukrainian military has no hope of forcibly regaining areas that have fallen under enemy control and that the Federation is negotiating from a significantly stronger position. Behind the scenes, a direct meeting between Trump and Putin is reportedly in the works, although nothing definite has been announced on the matter for now.
According to media rumors, Washington and Kyiv are reportedly on the verge of concluding the much-discussed agreement on the exploitation of critical Ukrainian mineral resources and raw materials, the latest version of which would present terms more favorable to the former Soviet republic than previous ones. However, from across the Atlantic, the opposition to any direct military involvement in monitoring any eventual truce in Ukraine remains firm, with the US having long since extricated itself from discussions on a potential “reassurance force” proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
