Russian President Vladimir Putin said warnings from Moscow that it would retaliate against any Ukrainian attacks during the annual Victory Day celebration helped push an agreement for a three-day ceasefire.
At a press conference held Saturday night in Moscow, Putin stated that Russian officials had told Washington that security measures would need to be taken for their diplomats in kyiv in case Ukraine attacked during the Russian military parade.
Putin claimed that the idea of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange, proposed by President Donald Trump, arose from those talks about embassy security.
The Russian military parade passed without incident on Saturday, after several days of growing tension between Russia and Ukraine, until Trump unexpectedly announced the ceasefire on Friday night. The truce would last from May 9 to 11, he said, and Moscow and kyiv also agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.
Putin made these statements after holding talks with the leaders of Slovakia, Malaysia and Laos.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico stated that he conveyed a message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Putin. in which he expresses his willingness to meet with the Russian leader “in any format.”
During the press conference in Moscow, Putin stated that he has repeatedly stated that he is willing to meet with Zelensky in Moscow or anywhere else, but only to sign a peace agreement.
The Russian leader also spoke about his planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month in China.
“In principle, there is a high degree of agreement to take a serious and substantial step forward in cooperation in the oil and gas sector,” Putin declared. «Virtually all the key points have been agreed. “If we manage to finalize them and conclude the process during the visit, I would feel very satisfied.”
