Russian dictator vladimir putin has offered bilateral talks with Kyiv for the first time in many years and said he is open to a longer ceasefire after a one-day "Easter truce", Reuters reported on Monday, April 21.
The publication writes that putin, under pressure from the United States, has allegedly decided to demonstrate his readiness for peace in Ukraine. In a conversation with a state television reporter, the russian president said that moscow is apparently open to any peace initiatives and expects the same from Ukraine.
"We always have a positive attitude towards a ceasefire, which is why we have come up with such an initiative, especially since we are talking about bright Easter days," putin said.
Later, kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that putin had in mind the possibility of direct talks with Ukraine. Reuters recalls that the two sides did not hold direct talks after a failed peace attempt in the first months of the full-scale invasion.
"When the president said that it was possible to discuss the issue of not striking civilian targets, including at the bilateral level, the president meant negotiations and discussions with the Ukrainian side," Peskov said.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on April 21, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that on April 23 representatives of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, France and the United States would hold talks on a ceasefire.
On April 20, President Zelenskyy said that Ukraine proposed to abandon any strikes by long-range drones and missiles on civilian infrastructure for a period of at least 30 days with the possibility of extension.
On April 20, putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the russian dictator did not give the order to extend the "Easter truce."
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.