MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
The fate of a U.S.-brokered 30-day ceasefire plan in Ukraine looks - well, actually, it's not clear at all how it looks. We do know a White House envoy is in Moscow today to discuss the proposal with top Kremlin officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has indicated he still has plenty of questions about it. Let's bring in NPR Russia correspondent Charles Maynes. Hey there.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Hi there.
KELLY: Hi. Get us up to speed where the talks have gone so far, what Putin has had to say.
MAYNES: Yeah. So the Kremlin said it wanted to hear firsthand from the White House about this new ceasefire proposal, by which the U.S. promised to lift an embargo on military and intelligence aid to Ukraine provided Kyiv ceased attacks on Russia. Now, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, who, let's remember, negotiated that release of an imprisoned American school teacher from Russia just a month ago, you know, he was dispatched to Moscow to see if he could convince the Russians to sign onto the deal. He met with top officials, including President Putin, as you noted. But at a press event earlier today, in his first public comments about the proposal, the Russian leader laid out his views.
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PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Speaking Russian).
MAYNES: So here, Putin says the idea of a ceasefire is a good one and that Russia supported a peace resolution to the conflict - peaceful resolution to the conflict. But he said there were questions that needed discussing with the Americans and with President Trump in particular.
KELLY: Questions like what? What's he want to know?
MAYNES: Well, you know, it was a laundry list of how to implement this agreement, should it happen. You know, Putin mentioned the situation in Russia's Kursk region. This is where Russian troops appear on the verge of ending a seven-month occupation by Ukrainian forces. Putin was asking, you know, what do we do with Ukrainian soldiers? - who, he argued, were essentially surrounded. He pointed to Russian gains elsewhere in Ukraine and suggested Kyiv could use a pause in fighting to rearm. And he said even if Kyiv didn't do that, there are questions about how to monitor the ceasefire, what price there would be for violating it. You know, just in general, Putin went out of his way to thank President Trump for his efforts to end the war in Ukraine, but his message was, essentially, a lot needs to be worked out here.
KELLY: So, well, here's my question, Charles. What is our sense of whether Putin is genuine in wanting peace, or is he just stalling for time here?
MAYNES: Well, critics obviously would say he's stalling for time, and more nationalist voices in Russia would praise those tactics. Many in Moscow openly argue the ceasefire is really just an attempt by Ukraine to use diplomacy to steal a Russian military victory by other means. Meanwhile, Putin, you know, he's also repeated demands that he wants a long-term settlement that addresses what he calls the root causes of the conflict. You know, and that, in his mind, means an end to the expansion of NATO towards Russia's borders and a return of Russian control over the former Soviet sphere. You know, this ceasefire agreement, of course, addresses none of that.
KELLY: OK, so that is where things stand on the Russian side of this. What about the other players involved? Any updates from Ukraine or from the White House?
MAYNES: Yeah. You know, in a video address this evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Putin's moves, quote, "very predictable" and "very manipulative," saying it showed Russia merely wanted to prolong the war. Meanwhile, in Washington, President Trump said he hoped Putin would do the right thing, but seemed to bemoan this need for shuttle diplomacy and parsing of language.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Thousands of people a week are dying, so we really don't have very much time. We have to make this fast.
KELLY: Quickly, Charles, where do things go from here?
MAYNES: Well, it appears more talking, but the fundamental question is whether Trump, always in a hurry for a deal, you know, how he responds to Putin if the Russian leader keeps playing for time.
KELLY: NPR Russia correspondent Charles Maynes, thank you.
MAYNES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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