
Putin meets Trump’s envoy on Ukraine ceasefire
Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and was provided with “additional details” regarding the US-Ukrainian talks held earlier this week in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Kremlin announced on Friday.
At the meeting on Thursday, Putin also gave Witkoff “information and additional signals for President Trump,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to RT.
Following the Jeddah talks on Tuesday, a joint US-Ukrainian statement confirmed that Kiev had agreed to a proposed 30-day ceasefire with Russia. The US also announced the resumption of military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
Witkoff visited Moscow to deliver the details of the proposal to top Russian officials, who have yet to issue a formal response.
Peskov stated that the US representative met with Putin to provide “additional details” to the Russian leader.
At a press conference on Thursday, Putin said that Russia “absolutely supports” the idea of resolving the Ukraine conflict through peaceful means and is ready to discuss Trump’s ceasefire proposal.
“…the idea itself is the right one, and we certainly support it. But there are questions that we have to discuss. I think we need to work with our American partners. Maybe I will speak to President Trump. But we support the idea of ending this conflict with peaceful means,” Putin said, suggesting that dialogue could include a direct conversation with Trump.
Trump also expressed openness to communication, stating, “(Putin) put out a very promising statement, but it wasn’t complete. And, yeah, I’d love to meet with him or talk to him,” during a press conference alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
However, Putin emphasized that the details of a ceasefire must be clarified, noting that Moscow is not interested in a short-term solution but rather a lasting resolution of the conflict.
He highlighted the importance of establishing a system of “control and verification” to monitor the ceasefire and prevent Ukraine from using the pause in hostilities to rearm and reinforce its troops. Putin also stressed the need to address the status and fate of Ukrainian troops currently encircled in Russia’s Kursk Region after their incursion there last year.