Putin agrees in principle with Ukraine ceasefire proposal: 'Eliminate original causes'

Vladimir Putin thanked Donald Trump for his efforts to end the war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that his country agrees with the US proposals for a ceasefire in Ukraine. However, any ceasefire would have to deal with the root causes of the conflict, he added.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a press conference following a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow. (Reuters )

Putin said many details need to be sorted out before advancing further in talks.

"We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities," Putin told reporters at a news conference in the Kremlin.

He, however, said the ceasefire should eliminate the original cause of the crisis.

"But we proceed from the fact that this cessation should be such that it would lead to long-term peace and would eliminate the original causes of this crisis," he was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Ukraine and Russia have been fighting a protracted war since 2022 when Putin sent tens of thousands of troops inside the country, triggering the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.

Russian forces have been advancing since mid-2024 and control nearly a fifth of Ukraine's territory, three years into a war that US President Donald Trump has said he will stop.

Trump had said in the White House on Wednesday that he hoped the Kremlin would agree to the U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine said it would support.

Putin thanks Trump

Putin thanked Trump for his efforts to end the war.

"The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it," Putin said. "But there are issues that we need to discuss. And I think we need to talk to our American colleagues as well."

Putin said he might call Trump to discuss the issue. "We support the idea of ending this conflict by peaceful means."

With Reuters inputs