Ukraine Ceasefire Talks Between Russia and the U.S. Resume... Putin Holds Three-Hour Meeting with U.S. Envoys

[Financial News] Russian President Vladimir Putin met on the 5th (local time) with Steven Charles Witkoff, an envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump, and Jared Kushner, Trump's eldest son-in-law, to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine for more than three hours.
The Russian side described the meeting as "very productive," while the White House said the U.S. delegation discussed a "substantive plan" for the next stage of the peace negotiations.
However, neither side disclosed specific details of the meeting. 
Yuri Ushakov, the Kremlin's foreign policy aide, said at a briefing after the meeting that Witkoff and Kushner had "presented ideas on various ways to reach an agreement." He assessed that "the meeting went beyond a simple exchange of views on resolving the Ukraine crisis. Economic issues and potential major Russia-U.S. projects of mutual benefit were also discussed in considerable detail."
Ushakov attended the meeting between Putin and the U.S. delegation alongside Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev.


The White House issued its official position only after the meeting had ended. A White House official said in a statement sent to foreign media that Witkoff and Kushner had "discussed with President Putin a substantive plan for the next steps, which will be announced in the coming weeks."
The official added, "We look forward to productive discussions at the meeting to be held in Ukraine tomorrow."
Witkoff and Kushner left Moscow immediately after meeting with Putin and are scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on the 6th.
This was Witkoff's eighth visit to Russia and his third trip accompanied by Kushner. It is the first time the two have visited Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, since the war began.


As Putin welcomed the U.S. delegation at the Kremlin that day, he said, "The situation we need to address today is not easy," but added, "We are ready to present our views," saying he would discuss "all aspects" with the United States.
He said Russia had agreed to halt attacks on Kyiv for three days starting that day and that Ukraine had also reduced its attacks on Russia to about one-tenth of their previous level. However, he drew a line by saying, "We did not accept Ukraine's request for a broad three-day ceasefire."
Although the U.S. delegation has been visiting Russia and Ukraine in succession for peace negotiations, the gap between Russia's and Ukraine's positions on the terms for ending the war remains wide.
The Kremlin said the previous day that Putin's position "remains unchanged": Ukraine must cede all four regions Russia has declared annexed and abandon its bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Ukraine has also rejected this, calling it a de facto surrender condition.
Even after the two sides began negotiations in February through U.S. mediation, they intensified long-range airstrikes targeting each other's rear areas and have also clashed at sea.  


[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, International Affairs Correspondent Reporter