When a reporter asked him about the proposal, Putin began by heaping praise on Trump for his efforts.

“I would like to start with words of gratitude to the president of the United States, Mr. Trump, for paying so much attention to the Ukraine settlement. All of us have a lot on our plates,” he said, also giving credit to the heads of the BRICS countries for working toward a peace settlement.

Trump and the heads of Brazil, China, South Africa, and India “all pay a lot of attention and devote a lot of time to this issue, and we are thankful to them because it’s all aimed at the noble cause of stopping hostilities and stopping human casualties,” Putin said.

“We agree with the propositions to stop hostilities, but we proceed from the fact that such ceasefire should be such that would lead to permanent peace and remove the initial original causes of the crisis,” he continued.

The Russian president then moved to the battlefield situation in Kursk, where Russia has seen a major breakthrough over the past week, buoyed by a daring infiltration operation through a gas pipeline. He said the situation is “absolutely under our control” and that Russian fire control over the area means retreat of Ukrainian forces is impossible.

The fate of the remaining Ukrainian troops in Kursk was one listed area of contention about the ceasefire.

“No. 1 is what we’re going to do with this sector of breached-state border if we stop the hostilities for 30 days … will that mean that everybody there is going to retreat without fighting?” Putin said. “Are we going to have to let them go after all the atrocities they have perpetrated against civilians? Or will the Ukrainian leadership command them to lower their weapons, drop their weapons, and just surrender? How is it going to look? That’s still unclear.

“And what about other issues along the entire contact line, which is almost 2,000 kilometers? And, as you know, Russian troops have been advancing almost all along the contact line, and already conditions are favorable for us to surround and encircle whole military units. How are they going to use those 30 days?

“Is the ceasefire going to be used to continue forced mobilization, to continue rearming, to continue supplies of weaponry, to allow military units to regroup?” Putin added, outlining the main Russian objection brought forward by presidential aide Yuri Ushakov when he rejected the proposal while speaking with U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz.

Putin further suggested that the issue of enforcement would be difficult, as it was unclear who would determine which side broke the ceasefire and where along the 2,000-kilometer front line. The concern reflects the skepticism with which ceasefires are often viewed in Ukraine and Russia. Both sides repeatedly violated the Minsk I and Minsk II ceasefire agreements during the 2014-2015 Donbas War.

“Those are all issues that require very careful studying from both sides,” Putin said. “So the very idea is great, I think, is correct, and we, of course, support it. There are those certain issues that we still need to look into and to discuss. We need to hold consultations with our American partners,” he said, before correcting himself to say “counterparts.”

“Maybe we need to have a phone talk with President Trump to discuss that with him as well, but the very idea of ending this conflict in a peaceful manner, we support that,” Putin concluded.

Lukashenko backed up Putin’s answer, saying Belarus’s position was united with Russia’s. He also revealed that he had maintained contact with U.S. and Western leaders throughout the war and said Ukraine should have accepted a ceasefire early in the war.

“I spoke to Volodymyr Zelensky, and I told him, ‘Don’t look for someone to blame,’” Lukashenko said. “We will look for them later because the war is going on now. It’s occurring now in your territory, in the territory of Ukraine. And then I told him, ‘Remember this because that’s how it always happens. Tomorrow, the leadership will change in America, and what will happen with you?’ So it was as if I could predict the future.”

RUSSIAN NEGOTIATOR REJECTS US-UKRAINE CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT

Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, will travel to Moscow later on Thursday to discuss peace negotiations with Putin personally.

“The meeting between Witkoff and President Vladimir Putin will take place in a closed format this evening,” Ushakov said.