PM backs calls for ceasefire after Russia's 'Easter truce'

Kyiv sends delegation to London as Putin hints at possibility of bilateral talks to end Ukraine war, writes Alastair Jamieson

-  Alastair Jamieson

Ukraine is sending a delegation to London tomorrow for talks with Western allies on finding a resolution to the war with Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday – as Vladimir Putin separately raised the possibility of bilateral talks with Kyiv for the first time in years.

The Ukrainian president said he had had a “good and detailed conversation” with Sir Keir Starmer, who supports calls for a full ceasefire.

“We are ready to move forward as constructively as possible,” Mr Zelensky said, adding that a 30-hour Easter truce proclaimed by Moscow, which each side accused the other of violating, showed that it was Russia’s actions “that are prolonging the war”.

Putin, under pressure from Washington to show willingness to make peace in Ukraine, told a TV reporter in Russia that Moscow was open to any peace initiatives and expected the same from Kyiv. “We always have a positive attitude towards a truce, which is why we came up with such an initiative,” Putin said.