Putin hints at willingness for bilateral peace talks, as EU ponders 'red lines'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hinted at his willingness to hold bilateral talks with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy. His comments to Russian state TV are the first time since the early stages of the conflict that Putin has appeared amenable to direct talks.

Speaking on Monday, Putin said Russia has "always looked positively on any peace initiatives. We hope that representatives of the Kyiv regime will feel the same way."

He added: "We always have a positive attitude towards a truce, which is why we came up with such an initiative, especially since we are talking about the bright Easter days."

Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin's comments showed a willingness to engage in direct talks with Ukraine about not striking civilian targets. But the Kremlin added that there were no concrete plans for talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the conflict, now in its fourth year. 

The Kremlin insisted talks could only occur if Ukraine was willing to remove certain obstacles, without specifying what such hurdles were.

Zelenskyy did not respond directly to Putin's comments. He said that Ukraine was "ready for any conversation" that ensured civilians' safety and needed a "clear answer from Moscow" on whether it would agree to stop attacking civilian infrastructure.

In his interview, Putin acknowledged that the Russian military targeted a civilian building in a missile attack that killed 35 people and wounded more than 100 in the north-eastern city of Sumy on April 13.

He told state TV: "Everyone is well aware of the strike by our Armed Forces on a congress center, I think, in Sumy Region. Is it a civilian facility or not? Civilian. But there was an award ceremony for those who committed crimes in Kursk Region."

Red lines

Meanwhile, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot revealed that European powers informed the U.S. last week which aspects of a potential peace deal would be non-negotiable for them, ahead of a new round of discussions on Wednesday.

Last Thursday, Ukraine, the U.S., France, Germany and the UK held talks in Paris on ways to end the conflict. 

Senior officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will meet again in London on Wednesday.

"The only objective that concerns us is to defend French interests and European security. It's the reason that as the U.S. decides to place itself in a mediator position that we make them hear what our red lines are," Barrot told franceinfo radio on Tuesday.

Asked whether he thought that Trump's assertion that a peace deal could be announced this week was credible, Barrot said it depended on Putin.

"I think that the (Easter) truce which he (Putin) decreed somewhat surprisingly was a marketing operation, a seduction operation aimed at avoiding that President Trump gets impatient," Barrot said.

Despite repeated violations of the truce, Barrot said there had at least been a drop in intensity regarding drones and long-range missiles, which could perhaps open the door for a further truce.

There have been no direct talks between the two sides since the initial weeks of the conflict which began in February 2022.

Renewed attacks

Russian forces launched a mass overnight drone attack on Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odesa, wounding three people and damaging many apartments, local officials said early on Tuesday.

"The enemy targeted a residential area in a densely populated district of Odesa," the city's Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov wrote on the Telegram messaging app, sharing pictures of a fire blazing and apartment buildings with windows smashed and facades damaged.

Governor Oleh Kiper said that three people were injured in the attack and were receiving medical help.

The Ukrainian air force said on Tuesday that Russia launched 54 drones in an attack overnight, of which 38 were shot down and 16 did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures.

Kiper said the attack on Odesa damaged dwellings, civilian infrastructure, an educational institution and vehicles.

Videos shared by the emergency services showed crews putting out a large fire in one of the damaged buildings.

Odesa, with its three ports, has been a frequent target of Russian attacks.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that its forces had taken the village of Sukha Balka in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region.