KRISTINA KORMILITSINA / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL MANDATORY CREDIT/EPA
Russian President Vladimir Putin (3rd from right) meets with US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff (2nd from left) and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner (3rd from left) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia.
Meeting described as “useful” and “constructive”, with agreement “on certain points”, but it is not known which ones. One thing has become clear: European actors and their “destructive actions” have not left Putin’s sights.
The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff was productive but “no agreement was reached” on the occupied territories in Ukrainethe Kremlin said this Tuesday.
“No compromise solution (on the territories) has yet been chosen, but some American proposals can be discussed”, said Russian diplomatic advisor, Yuri Ushakov, in statements to journalists, including the agency France-Presse (AFP).
According to Yuri Ushakov, the discussion, which lasted around five hours, was “useful” and “constructive”, and contacts between Moscow and Washington will continue, but “there is still a lot of work to be done” to reach an agreement.
“We managed to reach an agreement on certain points (…), others were the target of criticism, but the main thing is that there was a constructive discussion and that the parties declared their willingness to continue their efforts”, highlighted Ushakov.
The Russian advisor specified that the discussions did not focus on the “concrete wording” of an agreement, but rather on the “substance”, and that several documents presented to Moscow were discussed, without going into details.
In a message on the social network X, the Russian envoy for international economic affairs, Kirill Dmitriev, said only that the meeting was “productive”.
Witkoff arrived in Moscow at the beginning of the day, accompanied by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
Putin very critical of Europeans
Ushakov also stated that Vladimir Putin criticized the “destructive actions” of the Europeans in relation to these negotiations during the meeting.
Before the meeting, Putin said Russia is prepared to wage war with Europe if that is what the Europeans want, although they do not want it.
“We have no intention of waging war on Europe, but if Europe wishes to do so and starts, we are ready immediately,” said the Russian leader.
“They don’t have a peace program, they are on the side of war,” the Russian leader said in statements to journalists.
The United States presented a first proposal 10 days ago that was highly regarded by Moscow, written without Kiev and its European allies.
The plan, aimed at ending the conflict triggered by the Russian offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, substantially followed Washington’s meetings with Ukrainians and Europeans.
The proposal was discussed again at a bilateral level on Sunday, in Florida, between delegations chaired by the head of US diplomacy, Marco Rubio, and the Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov.
Putin denounced that European countries, mainly referring to France, Germany and the United Kingdom, include unacceptable demands for Moscow in the plan with the sole objective of “blocking the entire peace process”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expected “signals” from the North American delegation after their meetings in the Russian capital.
“They intend to inform us directly immediately after these meetings. The next steps will depend on these signals”, he said.
“If there is fair play with our partners, if it is perceived as such, perhaps then we can meet very soon. We will see at what level”, added Zelenskyy, who declared himself willing, in that case, to meet face to face with Trump.
