OMM Newsroom
Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for helping create conditions for talks between Russia and Ukraine. Putin warned that Moscow would consider any foreign forces deployed in Ukraine legitimate targets.
Russia’s Interfax news agency reported that Putin made the remarks to U.S. representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at a meeting in the Kremlin and asked them to convey his gratitude to Trump, AnewZ reported, citing Reuters. The meeting followed trilateral talks between Russia, the United States and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi earlier this week.
Putin described progress on humanitarian issues as positive but stressed that Moscow’s position on territorial and security matters had not changed. He said he wanted to hear Witkoff and Kushner’s assessment of the Abu Dhabi talks.
Putin proposes evacuating civilians from Kostiantynivka
Putin said humanitarian cooperation had been successful in Oleshky, in the part of Ukraine’s Kherson region under Russian control, and proposed carrying out a similar mission in Kostiantynivka.
He claimed that 400-500 civilians remained in Kostiantynivka and said Russia was offering to evacuate them.
Witkoff describes atmosphere at talks as positive
Witkoff called the atmosphere at the Abu Dhabi talks positive and said the Russian and Ukrainian delegations had worked effectively. He presented an upcoming prisoner exchange as a sign of progress toward an agreement. Kushner had earlier said the exchange agreed in Abu Dhabi would be the largest since the war began.
Witkoff confirmed that European officials had not taken part directly in the talks but had been kept informed about the process. He said he would brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the Kremlin meeting and hoped a new round of trilateral talks would be announced, potentially with European representatives taking part.
Kushner said Washington saw a strong interest among European countries in joining the talks and helping bring the war in Ukraine to an end.
Putin said Moscow had never opposed dialogue with Europe. He said he wanted Washington to contact European leaders to clarify whether they wanted “peace or war.”
Putin reiterated Moscow’s firm position on Ukraine’s borders and the possible deployment of foreign forces. He said Russia recognized only one demarcation line with Ukraine: the state border.
Putin rejected the presence of foreign forces on Ukrainian territory, saying such a deployment would threaten Russia’s national security. He warned that foreign forces deployed in Ukraine would be considered legitimate targets for Russian attacks.
Putin also said he wanted any peace agreement reached in Ukraine to ensure lasting peace.
