In a surprising U-turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said he was willing to hold direct talks with Kyiv for the first time in years on a Ukrainian proposal to halt strikes on civilian infrastructure for 30 days. But his offer could be a trap for Ukraine. Despite international calls for direct peace talks, the Kremlin had always responded with a resounding “niet”.

But in a change of heart on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would be open to bilateral peace talks with the “Kyiv regime”. “The recent comments from the Kremlin really do mark the first time [since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022] … a willingness from Putin to negotiate with Ukraine,” explains Will Kingston-Cox, Russia researcher for the International Team for the Study of Security in Verona. Courting Trump's favour Putin has always refused to negotiate directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who he baselessly describes as the leader of a “neo-Nazi regime”, notes Russia expert Jeff Hawn at the London School of Economics.

Moscow has pushed propaganda such as saying a key war objective was to overthrow the Ukrainian government and ward off “Nazi” threats. ADVERTISEMENT But the Russian president’s about-face on Monday does not mean his opinion of Zelensky has changed. By saying he was ready to speak to the “Kyiv regime” rather than the Ukrainian government or Ukrainian authorities, Putin made a semantic choice “to imply [Zelensky’s government] is not legitimate”, says Hawn.

“He wants to highlight to Trump that Russia is willing to negotiate,” says Stephen Hall, a political scientist at the University of Bath specialising in Russian affairs. But it may also be a trap. Read more on FRANCE 24 English Read also: White House ramps up pressure on Ukraine as London peace talks falter 'Trump to let Putin keep seized land': Papers react to Ukraine peace plan