Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Ukraine be placed under a form of temporary administration to allow for new elections and the signature of key accords to reach a settlement in the war, Russian news agencies reported early on Friday.

Putin’s comments, during a visit to the northern port of Murmansk, come amid US attempts to forge a settlement to the conflict by re-establishing links with Russia and engaging with both Moscow and Kyiv, in separate talks. The Kremlin leader said he believed US President Donald Trump truly wanted peace.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has left hundreds of thousands of dead and injured, displaced millions of people, reduced towns to rubble and triggered the sharpest confrontation for decades between Moscow and the West.

Putin’s suggestion of a temporary administration appeared to address his long-held complaint that Ukraine’s authorities are not a legitimate negotiating partner as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has stayed in power beyond the May 2024 end of his mandate.

“In principle, of course, a temporary administration could be introduced in Ukraine under the auspices of the U.N, the United States, European countries and our partners,” Putin was quoted as saying in talks with seamen at the port.

“This would be in order to hold democratic elections and bring to power a capable government enjoying the trust of the people and then to start talks with them about a peace treaty.”

He said Trump’s efforts to proceed with direct talks with Russia - in contrast with his predecessor Joe Biden, who shunned contacts - showed the new president wanted peace.

“In my opinion, the newly elected president of the United States sincerely wants an end to the conflict for a number of reasons,” the agencies quoted him as saying.

A White House National Security Council spokesperson, asked about Putin’s remarks on temporary administration, said governance in Ukraine was determined by its constitution and the people of the country.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

European leaders have pressed on with their own efforts, pledging after a meeting in Paris on Thursday to strengthen Kyiv’s army to ensure it was the cornerstone of future security in Ukraine.

France and Britain tried to expand support for a foreign “reassurance force” in the event of a truce with Russia, although Moscow rejects any presence of foreign troops in Ukraine.

UKRAINE REJECTS NOTION OF ILLEGITIMACY

Zelenskiy has rejected any notion questioning his legitimacy, saying Ukraine is barred by law from holding elections under martial law and holding a poll in wartime conditions would in any case prove impossible.

Zelenskiy has repeatedly accused Putin in recent days of wanting to press on with the conflict.

The Trump administration has proposed a new, more expansive minerals deal with Ukraine, according to three people familiar with the ongoing negotiations and a summary of a draft proposal obtained by Reuters.

Trump has said a minerals deal will help secure a peace agreement by giving the United States a financial stake in Ukraine’s future.

In his comments, Putin said Russia was steadily moving forward to achieving the goals it had set out in its Ukraine operation.

Russia, Putin said, was in favour of “peaceful solutions to any conflict, including this one, through peaceful means, but not at our expense”.

“Throughout the entire line of military contact, our troops are holding the strategic initiative,” he said.

“We are gradually - perhaps not as quickly as some might like - but still persistently and with confidence moving towards achieving the goals set out at the beginning of this operation,” the agencies quoted him as saying.

More than three years after launching their full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces now hold about 20% of the country, with Moscow declaring four regions annexed. Its forces have also recovered much of the territory it initially lost in a Ukrainian incursion last August into its western Kursk region.

Putin praised the efforts in seeking a solution from the BRICS grouping it promotes as an alternative to traditional alliances - singling out China and India for praise.

He said Russia was ready to cooperate with many countries, including North Korea, to help end the war.

Western and Ukrainian sources say more than 11,000 North Korean troops have been sent to bolster Russian forces in the Kursk region, although Moscow has not confirmed this.

Putin said Russia was also ready to work with Europe, but adding that Europe “conducts itself in inconsistent fashion”.

European countries, he said, were trying “lead us around by the nose, but it’s okay, we’ve become used to it. I hope that we won’t make any mistakes based on excessive trust in our so-called partners.”