Putin Holds Talks with US Envoys on Ukraine Settlement

By Staff, Agencies

Russian President Vladimir Putin has concluded talks in Moscow with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, following two days of negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, and the US in Abu Dhabi.

The meeting was also attended by presidential aides Vladimir Medinsky and Yury Ushakov, as well as Putin’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev. According to RT, the discussions began with an exchange of opening remarks before moving into a closed session.

Putin opened by asking the US envoys to convey his gratitude to President Donald Trump for facilitating contacts between Russia and Ukraine, highlighting progress on humanitarian issues, TASS reported. Witkoff described the expected prisoner exchange as evidence of progress toward reaching a settlement.

Building on those efforts, Putin proposed an operation to evacuate civilians from Konstantinovka, modeled on the recent evacuation in Alyoshki. He suggested that the Russian and Ukrainian human rights commissioners coordinate the mission.

Putin said Russian forces control Konstantinovka and could guarantee the operation’s safety, but would require five days to clear mines from the area. He added that if Kiev maintains that it controls the city, it should provide security guarantees from its side.

Addressing the terms of a potential settlement, Putin said he wanted peace in Ukraine to be permanent. He maintained that Russia recognizes only one dividing line with Ukraine, the national border, while noting Moscow’s awareness of Ukrainian discussions about “gray zones.” He also rejected the deployment of foreign troops to Ukraine, warning that they would be considered legitimate targets.

The talks also addressed the role of European countries supporting Kiev. Witkoff said European representatives had not participated directly in the Abu Dhabi negotiations but had been briefed on their progress.

Kushner said European governments had expressed interest in joining the negotiations and ending the conflict, adding that Washington had begun discussions with them about Europe’s future security arrangements.

European representatives had held separate consultations with US and Ukrainian delegations, while Kushner argued that Europe should be involved in the process and suggested appointing a single representative.

Ushakov said on Thursday that European countries had yet to agree on a suitable negotiator. Moscow has stated that it is prepared to consider concrete European peace proposals but has not received any so far.

The US envoys arrived in Moscow on Thursday morning, where Dmitriev welcomed them at Vnukovo Airport. Asked about their mood, he described it as positive.