Putin Praises Meeting with Whitkoff and Reveals Reason for the Five-Hour Duration

Following his US counterpart Donald Trump's lead, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the meeting held two days ago in Moscow with US Envoy Steve Whitkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Putin confirmed today, Thursday, that the meeting was "necessary and very useful," according to RIA Novosti. He also indicated that the proposals from the US delegation were based on the outcomes of his meeting with Trump during the Alaska summit last August.

"Difficult Task" Putin revealed the reason behind the meeting lasting approximately 5 hours, stating that the two sides discussed "almost every point" of the American proposals, which led to the prolonged session. He stressed that the "search for a solution to the Ukrainian crisis is a difficult task," adding that there were some issues upon which no agreement was reached. The Kremlin leader also urged the Europeans to "participate in resolving the crisis, not intervene and obstruct."

He reiterated that his country "will take control of Donbas by military means or by other methods."

Reactions to the Meeting:

• Putin's foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov, announced after the five-hour meeting on Tuesday that no settlement had been reached, noting that the negotiation progress was affected by the "successes of the Russian army on the battlefield" in recent weeks.

• US President Trump indicated on Wednesday evening that the Russian President wants peace, describing the talks as "very good," but cautioned that the fate of the negotiations remains unclear.

It is worth noting that several sticking points remain in the American peace proposal (reduced to 19 points), most notably the issue of Donbas in eastern Ukraine and the possibility of Kyiv conceding it or placing it under Russian control.