Is Vladimir Putin ready for a ceasefire or playing for time?

Russia is ready for a halt in fighting, says Vladimir Putin, but he says there are "nuances".

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcastsRadioAudio FAQsVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersIs Putin ready for a ceasefire or playing for time?5 hours agoShareSaveLaura Gozzi and Paul KirbyBBC NewsShareSaveWatch: Putin responds to US ceasefire proposalRussia is ready for a halt in fighting, says Vladimir Putin, but "there are nuances". Those nuances that he laid out ahead of talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin on Thursday are so key to his thinking they could scupper any hope of a 30-day ceasefire.

They are demands that he has had throughout Russia's full-scale invasion, and before. And for Ukraine and its Western partners, many of them are going to prove unacceptable or impossible to fulfil.

"We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities," he started positively, only to add: "This cessation must be such that it would lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis."

Nobody would disagree with the need for long-term peace, but Putin's idea of the root causes of the war revolve around Ukraine's desire to exist as a sovereign state, beyond Russia's orbit.

Ukraine wants to be part of Nato and the European Union - so much so, it is enshrined in the constitution.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg70y3ydmdno

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