Putin accused of 'delaying tactics' over Ukraine truce deal, as Zelenskyy says Russia is 'sabotaging diplomacy'
14 March 2025, 18:48 | Updated: 14 March 2025, 19:17
Vladimir Putin has been accused of deploying "delaying" tactics in talks over peace in Ukraine.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron accused the Russian president of adding unnecessary complications to the agreement.
Putin said on Thursday that he agreed with the US-brokered ceasefire deal in principle, but that there were "nuances" he thought needed to be addressed.
Onlookers believe those conditions include a requirement that Ukraine does not join NATO, and that its allies stop arming it.
Mr Zelenskyy said that the return of Ukrainian prisoners and an "unconditional" 30-day ceasefire represented two "quick" steps that would help progress towards "a just and lasting peace".
He also hit out at Russia for "deliberately setting conditions that only complicate and drag out the process", and for "sabotaging diplomacy". On Thursday he criticised Putin for being "manipulative" in his initial response to the deal.
Meanwhile Mr Macron, the French president, said: "Russia must now accept the US-Ukrainian proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. Russian aggression in Ukraine must end. Abuses must stop. So must delaying statements."
The G7 group of leading nations also called on Russia to accept the ceasefire.
Donald Trump struck a slightly different tone, saying that his envoy Steve Witkoff had had "good" and "productive" talks with Putin.
But the US president also said that Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region of Russia were "completely surrounded" and in a "very bad and vulnerable position".
He said that he had requested to Putin that their "lives be spared" to avoid a "horrible massacre". Ukraine has denied being surrounded in Kursk and said its troops had been pulled back.
Writing on his TruthSocial site, Mr Trump said there was "a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end".
Putin sets out 'impossible' terms in ceasefire deal
Writing earlier, Mr Trump said: "Crooked Joe Biden got us into a real 'mess' with Russia (and EVERYTHING ELSE!), but I'm going to get us out.
"Millions of people are needlessly dead, never to be seen again…and there will be many more to follow if we don't get the Cease Fire and Final Agreement with Russia completed and signed.
"There would have been NO WAR if I were President. It just, 100%, would not have happened."
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Putin appeared to agree to the terms of the ceasefire deal in a Kremlin press conference on Thursday, before setting out a number of harsh conditions for peace that appeared to contradict any such agreement.
The list of ceasefire demands set out by Russia include guarantees that Ukraine will not receive weapons shipments from international backers or train soldiers during any 30-day pause.
Mr Zelenskyy hit out at the "very manipulative" Russian president on Thursday night, after his press conference. He said on Friday that Putin wanted to extend the war.
He also insisted any deal should include recognition of Ukrainian territory captured by Russia, harsh limits on the size of Ukraine’s army, in addition to a full ban on Nato membership and peacekeepers on the ground.
Former US official under George Bush discusses Ukraine ceasefire with Ben Kentish
A ceasefire should lead to "an enduring peace and remove the root causes of this crisis", Putin said.
The Russian leader, who many claim has little incentive to agree to any such deal, has set out large-scale demands that many have branded 'unrealistic' in a bid to draw out negotiations.
The Russian leader also claimed his nation was fully in control of the Kursk region, adding that Ukrainian troops there "have been isolated".
Putin's scepticism over the terms of a ceasefire deal with Ukraine has led many to highlight that the prolonging of any negotiations is a 'signature move' on Russia's part that has been repeated many time before.
Mr Zelenskyy said on Thursday: "Putin, of course, is afraid to say directly to President Trump that he wants to continue this war, he wants to kill Ukrainians.
"That's why they in Moscow are framing the idea of silence with such preconditions that nothing will happen at all or that it will not happen for as long as possible."
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"As we have always said, the only one who will drag things out, the only one who will be unconstructive, is Russia," Mr Zelenskyy said.
"They want a war. Putin has stolen years of peace and continues this war - day after day."
Mr Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine's allies should continue to put pressure on Putin to come to the negotiating table.
In contrast to the Ukrainian president's scepticism, Donald Trump praised Mr Putin for his "promising" remarks about he peace deal, urging Russia to "do the right thing".
Mr Trump welcomed the promising statement but insisted it was not complete.
He said it would be a "very disappointing moment for the world" if Russia rejected the proposal.
"Hopefully Russia will do the right thing," he said, adding that a peace deal "shouldn't be very complicated". The president urged both parties to get the process over with quickly.
