Vladimir Putin has endorsed US plans for a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine – but has insisted he will do so only on his terms.
The Russian president made a series of demands for concessions from Ukraine’s President Zelensky, which some experts said would amount to a “surrender” by Ukraine.
Mr Putin said: “We agree with the proposals for the ceasefire, but our position is based on the assumption the ceasefire will lead to a long-term peace.”
Any such agreement had to address the “root causes” of the conflict, he said at a press conference.
Mr Putin said he was broadly in favour of Donald Trump’s proposed 30-day truce, which Mr Zelensky has approved. But the Russian leader said there were “nuances” that had to be dealt with.
He has repeatedly insisted any temporary ceasefire could proceed only if he was given a guarantee that Ukraine would not join Nato, and he is adamant that Ukraine will not be given back land seized by Russia.
He said “serious questions” remained over how the ceasefire, agreed in talks between Washington and Kyiv in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, would be implemented.
Mr Putin’s response drew criticism from leading diplomats and pundits.
Former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul told the BBC: “We are forcing Ukraine to surrender. Putin is occupying their territory, denying them their sovereignty to choose their alliances, he is now telling them they cannot even import weapons.
“That’s not a great deal from Zelensky’s perspective.”
Vitaly Shevchenko, Russia editor for BBC Monitoring, said Mr Putin’s response to the ceasefire plan was “a ‘no’ disguised as a ‘yes’”.
Mr Shevchenko added: “The conditions he is putting forward for Ukraine would be devastating to accept. No more weapons supplies, no more mobilisation, surrender rather than withdrawal of Ukrainian troops in Kursk region.”
Mr Putin’s demand for the “root causes” of the dispute to be addressed was a coded demand to be allowed to achieve his initial aim in invading Ukraine, to wipe it off the map, said Mr Shevchenko.
The Russian president warned Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk to “surrender or die”. He said the proposal for the ceasefire was “good, and we absolutely support it”.
Russian forces have been advancing since the middle of last year, and now control nearly a fifth of Ukraine's territory, three years after the Kremlin sent tens of thousands of troops to invade the country.
At the same time, Ukrainian forces are losing ground in the Kursk region amid a major Russian offensive to recapture land which Kyiv had hoped could be a crucial bargaining chip in peace negotiations.
Mr Putin asked: “If we ceased hostilities for 30 days, would it mean that everybody there would leave? Should we release them after they committed serious crimes against civilians there?
“How will other aspects be dealt with along with 2,000km contact line? As you know, the Russian troops are advancing practically in every sector of the contact line, and all the conditions are there for us to besiege fairly large [Ukrainian] units.
“So what would happen during those 30 days?”
Ukraine is likely to see Mr Putin’s stance as an attempt to buy time while Russian troops squeeze the last Ukrainian troops out of western Russia and Moscow sticks to demands that Kyiv regards as seeking its capitulation.
Mr Putin also held out the idea of building a gas pipeline to Europe, because, he said, it needs cheap Russian gas.
Ukrainian troops stranded in Kursk would need to “surrender or die”, the Russian president warned. “The situation is fully under our control and the group that invaded our territory has been isolated, fully isolated,” he said.
Any ceasefire negotiations would depend on the situation on the ground.
After Mr Putin’s press conference, which was held with Belarusian president and ally Alexander Lukashenko, he was set to hold a meeting with US president Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Those discussions, behind closed doors in Moscow, were expected to focus on some of the details of the proposals.
The Russian leader thanked Mr Trump for “giving so much attention to a settlement in Ukraine”.
Asked about the prospect of the US lifting sanctions, he said any companies that wanted to return to Russia would be welcomed.
But sanctions on Russia, he said, had “created Russia’s independence and our sovereignty”.
He reminded the world that tactical nuclear arms have been deployed in Belarus.
Putin, of course, is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war, wants to kill Ukrainians
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accused Mr Putin of being afraid to admit to Mr Trump that he “wants to kill more Ukrainians”.
Mr Zelensky said: “Now we have all heard from Russia the very predictable, very manipulative words of Putin in response to the idea of silence on the front – he is actually preparing a refusal as of now.
“Putin, of course, is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war, wants to kill Ukrainians.
“And that's why there, in Moscow, they set up the idea of silence with such prerequisites that nothing would happen at all or that it would not happen for as long as possible.”
He added: “Putin often does this – he does not say no directly, but he does it in such a way that practically everything only delays and makes normal decisions impossible. We believe that this is all just another Russian manipulation.”
Ukraine does not set conditions that make things difficult, the president said.
“This is what Russia is doing. As we have always said, the only one who will delay everything, the only one who will be unconstructive, is Russia. They need war. Putin stole years of peace and continues this war – day after day.”
Sanctions were needed to force Putin to accept the terms of the ceasefire, he added.
Addressing his allies, he said: “Now you have to put pressure on him. It is necessary to introduce sanctions that will help.
Earlier, he accused the Kremlin of wanting to postpone a truce for as long as possible.
Mr Trump said Mr Witkoff was in serious discussions with Russia about ending the war.
The president, who said he was willing to talk to the Russian leader by phone, called Mr Putin’s statement “very promising” but said it was not complete.
“Hopefully, they’ll do the right thing,” he said during a meeting with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte.
He said he did not believe Russia would attack US allies. “It's not going to happen. We’ll make sure it doesn’t happen,” he said.
