On Thursday, March 13, Russian President Putin stated that he “principally agrees” to the United States’ proposal for a 30-day ceasefire agreement in the Ukraine conflict. In response, US President Trump said that Putin’s statement was “positive” but “not comprehensive enough”.
During a meeting in the Oval Office with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump told reporters that he hoped Russia would “do the right thing”.
“Putin made a hopeful statement, but it’s not comprehensive enough,” Reuters quoted Trump as saying. “I hope Russia does the right thing.”
“We are already aware of Ukraine’s position, and now we are receiving positive signals from Russia as well,” Trump said. “But until the final result is clear, nothing is set in stone.”
After meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Kremlin on Thursday, Putin held a press conference. He first thanked Trump for his “high attention” to resolving the Ukraine issue.
“We agree to the proposal of ceasing hostile actions. The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it,” Putin said, referring to the US proposal as “great and correct”. He mentioned that Russia theoretically supports the proposal, but there are still many details to discuss before reaching an agreement.
“Many of the final agreement details have already been discussed; now we need to see if Russia is willing to accept them,” Trump, who was meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, said. “I am willing to meet or talk with them, but we must resolve this matter quickly. You know, people are dying every day.”
According to BBC reports, Putin questioned the situation in areas like Kursk in Russia after the ceasefire. “If we stop hostile actions… what does that mean?”
Putin previously stated during his visit to Kursk that the situation there was “completely under our control”. He added that the Ukrainian military had “lost control” and was like “throwing in the towel”.
In light of this, Putin said, “For Ukraine, reaching a 30-day ceasefire agreement would be a good thing,” emphasizing that “we support” the proposal but aim for achieving lasting peace.
“We agree to the ceasefire proposal,” he said, adding, “but the condition is that this ceasefire can bring long-term peace and address the root causes of this crisis.”
Trump warned that if Russia rejects the peace proposal, it would be a “huge disappointment” to the world.
When asked if the US has “pressure tools” on Putin, such as sanctions, Trump said he indeed has means of pressure but is not willing to discuss them at the moment.
“I do have pressure tools, but I don’t want to talk about them now because we are in dialogue with them. Based on his statement today, I think these remarks are quite positive,” Trump added, mentioning that his special envoy Steve Witkoff was in Moscow for serious discussions with the Russian side on the US proposal.
The US proposal entails implementing a 30-day ceasefire to temporarily halt hostilities on the battlefield, with support from Kyiv, covering ceasefire on sea, air, and land.
Putin stated he would discuss the remaining issues with “American counterparts and partners” and hinted at “possibly talking with Trump”.