On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his belief that Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, intends to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine. This statement comes as Putin has intensified threats to expand Russian control over Ukrainian territory, and peace discussions held in Moscow earlier this week did not achieve any significant progress.
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, along with his son-in-law Jared Kushner, met with Putin and other senior Russian officials at the Kremlin on Tuesday to explore a new U.S. peace initiative, which was developed with contributions from Ukrainian representatives.
Following their discussions, Yury Ushakov, a foreign policy advisor to the Kremlin, informed the media that the parties failed to reach a consensus to resolve the ongoing war, which is nearing its fourth anniversary. Nonetheless, he characterized the meeting with Witkoff and Kushner as “useful” and “constructive.”
On Wednesday, Trump reiterated this view, stating to reporters in the Oval Office that the American team had a “reasonably good meeting with President Putin.” He cautioned, however, that it might be premature to forecast the results of the negotiations, emphasizing, “it does take two to tango.” Trump also mentioned that he thought Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should have agreed to a ceasefire during their initial White House meeting in February.
“That would have been a much better time to settle. But [Ukrainian officials], in their wisdom, decided not to do that. They have a lot of challenges facing them right now,” Trump remarked.
When asked if Witkoff and Kushner left their meeting in Moscow believing that Putin was indeed looking to conclude the fighting, Trump responded, “He would like to end the war. That was their impression.”
Witkoff and Kushner are set to meet with top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov in Florida on Thursday as a follow-up to their discussions with Putin, according to two U.S. officials who spoke to AFP.
The Kremlin announced this week that the recent successes of the Russian military in eastern Ukraine, including the reported capture of the strategic city of Pokrovsk, have bolstered Russia’s position in ceasefire negotiations.
In a Thursday interview with Indian media, Putin reaffirmed that Russia aims to gain full control of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and will not withdraw from this demand, regardless of whether it requires taking the territory by force.
At the same time, in Kyiv, Zelensky stated that while a chance for peace has emerged, it must be paired with continued pressure on Moscow.
“The world now clearly feels there is an opportunity to end the war, and the current negotiation efforts must be backed by pressure on Russia,” he said during his regular evening address on Wednesday.
Reporting by AFP also contributed to this article.
