Russian President Vladimir Putin also expressed readiness on Tuesday to engage in a direct dialogue with Ukraine, considering Zelenskyy’s proposal to halt strikes on civilian infrastructure.
The FT reported Tuesday evening that Putin had offered to halt his country’s invasion of Ukraine along the current front lines, perhaps relinquishing its claims on some Ukrainian regions it partially occupies, in exchange for the United States recognizing Russian ownership of Crimea (which it illegally annexed in 2014) and some territory occupied during the full-scale war that started in 2022.
The new openness comes after United States President Donald Trump threatened to walk away from negotiations to end the war if “either side” continued to block the ceasefire process. Trump also said Monday, in an all-caps post on Truth Social, that he hoped Ukraine and Russia would agree a deal this week.
Trump had previously promised to end the war between Russia and Ukraine within the first 100 days of his second presidency — by April 30.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian officials and European allies will meet with U.S. representatives in London to discuss a Washington-backed ceasefire plan.
“Tomorrow in London, our team has a mandate to officially discuss an unconditional ceasefire or a partial one. We are ready for this stage. We are also ready to record that we are ready to sit down at the negotiating table in any format so that there is no deadlock,” Zelenskyy said.