Putin sets conditions on ceasefire as Strasbourg court rules on Odesa
A look back at 13 March 2025, when Moscow's response to a US ceasefire proposal and a European Court of Human Rights ruling on Ukraine shaped the political agenda.
What did Moscow make of the ceasefire idea that Washington and Kyiv had put forward? On 13 March 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the US proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine would depend on Russia's conditions being met, and that further discussions would follow.
The ceasefire track
Two days earlier, on 11 March 2025, the United States and Ukraine had announced their intention to seek a 30-day ceasefire with Russia. That followed talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, involving US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Andriy Yermak, Ukraine's presidential chief of staff.
Putin's statement on 13 March 2025 therefore set out Russia's position on the proposal: it was not rejected outright, but tied to Moscow's own terms.
A ruling on Odesa
The same day, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Ukrainian government had failed to prevent the clashes in Odesa in 2014 and had failed to investigate them properly. The court ordered the government to pay compensation.
Union State measures
Also on 13 March 2025, Putin announced that Russian citizens permanently residing in Belarus would be able to vote and run in local elections there. Belarusian citizens permanently residing in Russia would have the same rights in Russian local elections. The announcement concerned the Union State of Russia and Belarus.
