Russian President Vladimir Putin urged that Ukraine be placed under interim administration to enable for new elections and the signing of major treaties to end the war, according to local media on Friday.
Putin’s remarks, made during a visit to the northern port of Murmansk, came as the United States attempts to resolve the conflict by re-establishing ties with Russia and engaging in separate discussions with Moscow and Kyiv.
Ukraine and European officials have accused the Kremlin leader of attempting to prolong cease-fire talks without a genuine intention to end the war.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has killed and injured hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions, destroyed communities, and sparked the greatest conflict between Moscow and the West in decades.
Putin’s idea of a temporary administration appeared to address his long-standing argument that Ukraine’s authorities are not a credible negotiation partner because President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has remained in office beyond the end of his mandate in May 2024.
“This would be in order to hold democratic elections and bring to power a capable government enjoying the trust of the people and then to start talks with them about a peace treaty,” Putin said.
He added that Trump’s efforts to proceed with direct talks with Russia – in contrast with his predecessor Joe Biden, who shunned contacts – showed the new president wanted peace.
Trump has said he wants to broker a swift end to the war but a series of talks has yet to yield a significant change in hostilities.
The U.S. said on Tuesday it had signed separate agreements with Moscow and Kyiv for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, but Russia said subsequently that pact would only enter into force when further conditions were met, including the lifting of sanctions on a state bank.
Moscow had previously rebuffed an American proposal for a broader 30-day ceasefire.
European leaders have pressed on with their own efforts, pledging after a meeting in Paris on Thursday to strengthen Kyiv’s army to ensure it was the cornerstone of future security in Ukraine.
Zelenskiy has rejected any notion questioning his legitimacy, saying Ukraine is barred by law from holding elections under martial law and holding a poll in wartime conditions would in any case prove impossible.
Zelenskiy has repeatedly accused Putin in recent days of wanting to press on with the conflict.
The Trump administration has proposed a new, more expansive minerals deal with Ukraine, according to reports.
Trump has said a minerals deal will help secure a peace agreement by giving the United States a financial stake in Ukraine’s future.
In his comments, Putin said Russia was steadily moving forward to achieving the goals it had set out in its Ukraine operation.
Russia, Putin said, was in favour of “peaceful solutions to any conflict, including this one, through peaceful means, but not at our expense”.
“Throughout the entire line of military contact, our troops are holding the strategic initiative,” he said.
“We are gradually – perhaps not as quickly as some might like – but still persistently and with confidence moving towards achieving the goals set out at the beginning of this operation,” the agencies quoted him as saying.
More than three years after launching their full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces now hold about 20% of the country, with Moscow declaring four regions annexed.
Its military have also reclaimed much of the land lost in an August 2018 Ukrainian invasion into its western Kursk province.
Putin complimented the BRICS grouping’s efforts to find a solution as an alternative to traditional alliances, mentioning China and India specifically.
He stated that Russia was willing to work with numerous countries, including North Korea, to help end the war.
According to Western and Ukrainian sources, more than 11,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to support Russian forces in the Kursk region, though Moscow has not confirmed this.
