Putin Backs Trump's Call for 30-Day Ceasefire. But There's a Catch

The Russian leader praised the American initiative but stressed that it must not repeat past mistakes, when Kyiv repeatedly violated agreements after signing them. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated this in an interview with CBS, noting that Moscow has learned from past experiences where the Kyiv regime broke reached agreements multiple times.

"Regarding the ceasefire and the call to halt hostilities, Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately supported the proposal made by U.S. President Donald Trump several weeks ago to establish a 30-day ceasefire—provided we do not repeat the mistakes of the last decade, when agreements were signed only for Ukraine to violate them with the support and encouragement of the [former U.S. President] Joe Biden administration and European countries," Lavrov emphasized.

The Russian Foreign Minister added that Putin responded positively to the initiative put forward by the American president weeks ago. However, implementing the ceasefire requires guarantees that it will not be exploited by Ukraine to reinforce its armed forces. Moscow insists on halting Western weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

According to Lavrov, Russian forces will continue strikes, but only against Ukrainian military targets until formal agreements are reached. He recalled previous instances where Russia declared ceasefires, such as during Easter, and supported truce proposals that Moscow claims were later violated by Ukraine. In particular, Lavrov mentioned Russia’s June proposal for an immediate ceasefire in exchange for Ukrainian troop withdrawals and a renunciation of NATO membership—which went unanswered.