Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is ready for “serious” peace negotiations, adding that the revised draft proposal discussed by the United States and Ukraine could form the basis of a future settlement to end the ongoing conflict.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, Putin offered his first reaction since Kyiv secured changes to the initial proposal a plan widely criticised for leaning too heavily toward Russia’s demands. He suggested Washington was now taking Moscow’s position into account, though key issues still require negotiation ahead of a planned US delegation visit to Moscow early next week.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted “tremendous progress” in the peace push, but both Washington and Kyiv say several critical points remain unresolved. Despite Trump’s earlier target of Thanksgiving for major announcements, analysts have questioned Moscow’s true appetite for concessions. Still, Putin struck a notably optimistic tone, even while insisting Russia remains prepared to continue fighting.
Ukraine and several European allies had rejected the original proposal, which reportedly granted Moscow significant concessions. Following talks in Geneva last weekend, Ukrainian officials said the revised document now separated into four components offered a more balanced framework.
“In general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements,” Putin said, confirming that Russia had received the updated text. He added that Moscow is “absolutely ready for a serious discussion” of the plan.
Trump has announced that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will travel to Russia next week for high-level discussions. Putin said he did not yet know the composition of the US delegation but confirmed Moscow expects the group in the first half of the week.
Meanwhile, Ukraine signalled it was maintaining momentum in its negotiations with Washington. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian and American teams would continue refining the Geneva points into a document capable of securing “peace and security guarantees.” His chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, stressed the need to “work quickly” to keep talks on track.
Putin also cautioned that the draft proposal would need further refinement in “diplomatic language” and dismissed as “funny” a clause stating that Russia would not attack Europe. He reaffirmed that fighting would stop only when Ukrainian forces withdraw from territories currently under their control. “If they don’t withdraw, we will achieve this by force,” he said.
Addressing leaked phone calls between Russian aide Yuri Ushakov and Witkoff recordings that critics say show the plan tilting in Moscow’s favour Putin said the audio could be real or fabricated. The Kremlin earlier argued the leak was intended to derail the peace process.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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