“Certainly, there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic,” Peskov said, though he tempered expectations, adding, “Much remains to be done.”
He tied Putin’s stance to that of U.S. President Donald Trump, noting, “Putin solidarizes with President [Donald] Trump’s position on settlement.”
"You heard a very important statement by President Putin yesterday. Answering journalists' questions, he said that he supports President Trump's position on the settlement, but voiced some questions that need to be answered together," Peskov said.
The U.S. initiative for ceasefire in Ukraine
The United States floated a 30-day ceasefire during March 11 talks with Ukraine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a plan Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy embraced, contingent on Russia’s agreement.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the proposal would reach Moscow via “multiple channels.”
On March 13, Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff landed in Moscow to discuss the truce with Putin, who, in a pre-meeting press conference, claimed Russia supports a pause if it leads to “long-term peace” and addresses “crisis causes”.
Trump called Putin’s response “promising”, while Zelenskyy labeled it manipulative, suggesting Putin is gearing up to reject the deal outright.