For the first time since the war began, Putin says he’s open to direct peace talks with Ukraine

There have been no direct talks between the two sides since the early weeks after Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

In a potential shift in tone, Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed holding bilateral talks with Ukraine, the first such suggestion since the early weeks of the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, while not directly responding to the offer, said Kyiv is open to discussing an end to attacks on civilian targets, according to Reuters.

In his nightly address, Zelenskiy reiterated Ukraine’s willingness to engage in any form of dialogue that could lead to halting strikes on civilians. “Ukraine maintains its proposal not to strike at the very least civilian targets. And we are expecting a clear response from Moscow,” he said, as quoted by Reuters.

Both Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a 30-hour Easter truce declared by Moscow over the weekend, but each accused the other of violating it. Fighting resumed shortly after, and now both countries say they are open to further ceasefires.

The diplomatic push comes amid mounting pressure from the United States, which has warned it could pull back from its peace efforts unless meaningful progress is made. U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that Washington may abandon the talks within days if no headway is achieved. However, Trump added a glimmer of optimism on Sunday, saying a deal could still come “this week.”

Zelenskiy said Ukraine would join talks with the U.S. and European nations on Wednesday in London, a follow-up to last week’s Paris meeting that focused on ways to end the more than three-year-old conflict. “The London talks have a primary task: to push for an unconditional ceasefire. This must be the starting point,” he said.

In an interview with Russian state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin, Putin said Moscow remained open to any peace initiative. “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,” he said, as cited by Reuters.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later clarified that when Putin mentioned avoiding civilian targets, he was referring to potential negotiations with 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 reporters, as quoted by Interfax and Reuters.

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

Zelenskiy also emphasized that Ukraine’s military response would continue to mirror Russia’s actions. “Ceasefire will be met with ceasefire, and Russian strikes will be met with our own in defence,” he said on X. “Actions always speak louder than words.”

Russia’s core demands, including Ukraine ceding annexed territories and adopting permanent neutrality, remain a major stumbling block. Kyiv insists such terms would amount to surrender and leave the country vulnerable to future attacks.

Despite the deep divides, the renewed signals from both sides and international pressure may mark a tentative opening for renewed peace efforts.