U.S. President Donald Trump praised recent diplomatic developments as “a potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine,” saying they could result in “hundreds of thousands of lives being saved.”
In a televised address broadcast from the Kremlin early Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for renewed negotiations with Ukraine—his first public offer to do so since the initial stages of the war, which began when Russia launched an unprovoked invasion in February 2022.
“Russia did not walk away from talks in 2022 — it was Kyiv,” Putin said. “We are ready to resume negotiations without any preconditions.”
Putin’s comments came after the leaders of Germany, France, Poland and the United Kingdom — with backing from the United States — jointly urged a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, calling for it to begin on Monday following their unified trip to Kyiv on Saturday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded in a message posted to X (formerly Twitter), affirming that Ukraine is prepared to engage: “We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire — full, lasting, and reliable — starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet.”
French President Emmanuel Macron echoed the sentiment in a separate X post, emphasizing that “there can be no dialogue if, at the same time, civilians are being bombed.”
Despite these diplomatic calls, Putin did not formally endorse the ceasefire proposal and reaffirmed the Kremlin’s demands, which include Ukrainian neutrality and full Russian control over the territories Moscow claims as its own.
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