MOSCOW/WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for three hours on Friday to discuss the U.S. plan to end the Ukraine crisis. Trump said afterwards that the two sides were "very close to an agreement" despite clear differences in their positions.
In a social media post after the meeting, Trump called it a good day of negotiations and called for a high-level meeting between Kiev and Moscow to finalize the deal.
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the first weeks of the conflict, which began in February 2022.
Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, who attended Friday's talks and briefed reporters, described the discussions as constructive and very useful.
"This conversation has allowed Russia and the United States to further converge their positions not only on Ukraine, but also on a number of other international issues," he said. "Regarding the Ukrainian crisis itself, the discussion focused in particular on the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine."
Witkoff did not immediately comment. His latest visit follows talks earlier this week during which Ukrainian and European officials reportedly rejected some of Washington's proposals for resolving the conflict.
The U.S. peace proposal put forward by Witkoff reportedly includes formal U.S. recognition of Russian control over Crimea and de facto recognition of Russian control over the areas of southern and eastern Ukraine currently occupied by its forces.
By contrast, the European and Ukrainian document seen by Reuters postpones discussion of territorial issues until after the ceasefire and makes no mention of recognising Russian control over any Ukrainian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly refused to recognise Crimea as part of Russia, saying it would violate the Ukrainian constitution.
There are also contradictions on the issue of lifting sanctions against Russia, the form of security guarantees for Ukraine and the future size of the Ukrainian armed forces. The Trump administration has warned that the US will walk away from the negotiations if there is no real progress.
Reuters/CGTN/gnews.cz-jav
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