will ‘do the right thing’ after Vladimir Putin rejected a US-backed proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine.

Putin said in a Thursday press conference that he was in ‘favor’ of the proposal but would not say yes to it unless Trump and the Americans could answer some ‘serious questions.’

Speaking later in the day, Trump said ‘we know where we are with Ukraine’ before confirming Russia hadn’t yet accepted the proposal.

‘At this moment we have people talking in Russia, we have representatives over there, Steve Witkoff and others. They’re in very serious discussions,’ Trump added.

Trump reiterated that he and the rest of his administration ‘want it to stop’ in reference to the three-year old war.

‘Hopefully they’ll do the right thing,’ Trump added, in a message to the Russians, saying Putin’s statement was ‘promising’ but ‘incomplete.’

Putin said that he would try to reach out to the president himself to see if they could get to a proposal that worked for his side.

‘I think we need to talk to our American colleagues… Maybe have a phone call with President Trump and discuss this with him,’ he told reporters.

His problems with the deal include his inability to have a say over any possible betrayals by Ukraine and whether his adversaries in Kyiv would use the break to re-arm themselves and mobilize.

,’ Putin said.

added that any ceasefire must lead to ‘long-term peace’.

‘s forces.

, Putin claims, adding that he will determine the ‘next steps’ on the ceasefire based on the success of the Kursk campaign.

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There will be only two options: surrender or die,’ he added, according to Russian media.

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‘In these conditions, I believe it would be good for the Ukrainian side to secure a ceasefire for at least 30 days,’ he said.

Referring to the Ukrainian troops in Kursk, he said: ‘Will all those who are there come out without a fight?’

Putin thanked Trump ‘for paying so much attention to the settlement in Ukraine.’

He also thanked the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa for their ‘noble mission to end the fighting to casualties,’ a statement that signaled those countries’ potential involvement in a ceasefire deal.

Ushakov said during a live TV interview shortly before the Russian despot’s comments: ‘I have stated our position that this is nothing other than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military, nothing more.’

The foreign policy advisor said Moscow sees its goal as being a long-term settlement ‘that takes into account the legitimate interests of our country and our known concerns,’ rather than a temporary truce.

‘It seems to me that no one needs any steps that (merely) imitate peaceful actions in this situation,’ he said dismissively.

Asked by TV host Olga Skabeeva – also known as Putin’s ‘Iron Doll’ – if this meant an outright rejection of the Trump ceasefire by Moscow, he replied ominously: ‘The President will probably [soon] make more specific and substantive assessments.’

Ushakov, who previously served as Moscow’s ambassador to the US, added that he had outlined Russia’s position on the ceasefire to US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

The Russian Defense Ministry’s claim that it recaptured the town of Sudzha, a Ukrainian operational hub in Kursk, came hours after Putin visited his commanders in Kursk. The claim could not be independently verified. Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.

The renewed Russian military push and Putin’s high-profile visit to his troops unfolded as Trump seeks a diplomatic end to the war, which began more than three years ago with Russia’s full-scale invasion.

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Thursday that Trump is ‘willing to apply maximum pressure on both sides,’ including sanctions that reach the highest scale on Russia.

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plans to fight on in Ukraine and weaken Donald Trump’s negotiating position in any peace deal by stoking tensions between the US and the rest of the world.

Washington Post

in late February, have already informed the thinking of the Russian state.

and the EU.

The US has twice sided with Russia at UN votes, in a stark reversal of Washington’s foreign policy which has worried allies.

The first instance was at the General assembly where it opposed a European-drafted resolution condemning Moscow’s actions and reaffirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

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The pro-Kremlin thinktank’s document argues that against this backdrop, Russia should be working towards ‘the complete dismantling’ of the current Ukrainian government.

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