Russia open to direct talks with Ukraine, Putin claims

Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to holding bilateral talks with Ukraine to advance a ceasefire deal, the Kremlin said on April 21.

There have been no direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russia is open to discussing any proposed peace initiatives, Putin told a Russian state television journalist shortly after announcing that Moscow had resumed hostilities following the short-lived "Easter truce."

"We have always talked about this, that we have a positive attitude towards any peace initiatives. We hope that representatives of the Kyiv regime will feel the same way," Putin said.

Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later clarified that Putin was signaling his willingness to hold direct talks with representatives from Ukraine.

"When the president said that it was possible to discuss the issue of not striking civilian targets, including bilaterally, the president had in mind negotiations and discussions with the Ukrainian side," Peskov told the Interfax news agency.

The Kremlin's comments come a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a joint 30-day ceasefire on long-range missile and drone strikes against civilian infrastructure. While claiming openness to "peace initiatives," Russia has not yet agreed to impose the ban.

Zelensky said on April 21 that he was still waiting for an answer regarding the proposed ceasefire.

U.S. President Donald Trump has also ramped up pressure on Ukraine and Russia to secure a ceasefire in the coming days. After threatening on April 18 to pull U.S. support from the peace process altogether, Trump told reporters on April 21 that there is a "very good chance" of a ceasefire agreement soon.

"I will be giving you full details over the next three days, but we had very good meetings on Ukraine, Russia," Trump said. "There is a very good chance (to reach a ceasefire)."

Trump's "very good chance" may come at the expense of painful concessions for Ukraine. According to documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the U.S. plan to end the war includes recognition of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and a guarantee that Ukraine would not join NATO.

These are key Kremlin demands that conflict with both Ukraine's stated red lines and international law.

Ukrainian representatives will meet with officials from the U.S., U.K., and France for another round of peace talks in London on April 23. The London negotiations are a follow-up to the recent April 17 talks in Paris, where senior members of the Trump administration first presented the U.S. ceasefire proposal to Ukrainian and European officials .

Zelensky has previously said that he is willing to meet directly with Putin if it helps bring an end to Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.