Putin Calls Moscow Talks with Trump Envoy ‘Constructive’ as U.S. Pushes Ceasefire Deal
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s three-hour meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday was “constructive and very useful,” narrowing gaps on both Ukraine and wider global issues. According to Ushakov, the pair focused on reviving direct Moscow-Kyiv negotiations and discussed Washington’s draft peace plan, which would freeze fighting and let Russia retain territory it now occupies.
The White House issued no read-out, but President Donald Trump later told reporters talks were moving “smoothly” and that a deal to halt a war costing “5,000 lives a week” was “pretty close.” Kyiv remains wary: President Volodymyr Zelensky told the BBC he could discuss “territorial issues” only after a “full and unconditional ceasefire,” even as Trump signals willingness to recognise Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. European and Ukrainian counter-proposals reject any formal cession of land before a ceasefire.
With Ukraine absent from the Moscow session and Russia accused of stalling on a proposed 30-day Easter truce, big hurdles remain. But Ushakov said the dialogue “brought positions closer,” while diplomatic pressure mounts: Trump continues to link progress to a lucrative U.S.–Ukraine rare-earths deal, and Zelensky urges allies to tighten sanctions on Moscow, warning that “without pressure this cannot be resolved.”
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