Russian President Vladimir Putin has characterized his extensive five-hour diplomatic engagement with U.S. representatives as both “necessary” and “useful” while simultaneously acknowledging the challenging nature of negotiations aimed at resolving the ongoing Ukraine conflict. In pre-recorded comments for India Today TV channel, obtained by Russian state media outlets Tass and RIA Novosti, Putin revealed that certain American proposals presented during the Kremlin discussions remained unacceptable to Moscow’s strategic interests.
The high-level talks occurred as U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior advisor Jared Kushner prepared for subsequent negotiations with Ukrainian lead negotiator Rustem Umerov in Miami. According to an unnamed Trump administration official, these parallel diplomatic efforts represent a renewed American initiative to broker peace in the nearly four-year conflict, despite the significant challenges in reconciling the fundamental positions of both warring nations.
President Trump expressed optimism following the Moscow meeting, stating that his emissaries departed the marathon session with strong confidence in Putin’s genuine desire to reach a negotiated settlement. “Their impression was very strongly that he’d like to make a deal,” Trump remarked on Wednesday.
Putin provided additional context regarding the protracted nature of the discussions, explaining through Tass that both parties meticulously examined each component of the American peace proposal. The Russian leader described the exchange as a “very concrete” conversation that required thorough examination of all points. While indicating Moscow’s willingness to engage with certain aspects of the proposal, Putin unequivocally stated that other provisions remained beyond the Kremlin’s acceptable parameters, characterizing the overall process as “difficult work.”
The diplomatic developments occur against the backdrop of continued violence in eastern Ukraine, where government forces and Russian-backed separatists have been engaged in conflict since 2014. The recent flurry of high-profile negotiations signals potentially the most serious effort to date to find a political solution to the crisis that has claimed over 13,000 lives and displaced millions.