Putin meets Trump’s envoys as Kremlin says Ukraine settlement hinges on territory
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the agreement Ukrainian He met with US President Donald Trump’s envoys during talks on Marathon night, and the Kremlin insisted that the territorial issue must be resolved in order to reach a peace agreement.
The Kremlin meeting, which lasted until 3 a.m. Friday morning, came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sharply criticized his European allies on Thursday for their slow and fragmented response to Russia’s heavy-handed intervention. four years of full-scale invasion He said he left Ukraine at Putin’s mercy amid ongoing US pressure for a peace deal.
Kremlin foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov, who attended Putin’s meeting with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, said, “It has been reaffirmed that a long-term agreement cannot be expected without resolving the territorial issue,” referring to Moscow’s demand that Kiev withdraw its troops from the eastern regions that Russia illegally annexed but never fully captured.
Zelenskyy said Thursday after a meeting with Trump in Davos, Switzerland, that the future status of the territory in eastern Ukraine currently occupied by Russia has not yet been resolved but that peace proposals are “almost ready.”
In a positive development, Ushakov told reporters that an agreement had been reached for Russian, Ukrainian and US officials to hold talks on security issues related to a possible peace agreement in the United Arab Emirates on Friday.
Ushakov noted that Trump’s envoys informed Putin about Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy, as well as their previous meetings with Ukrainian and European officials. The talks, which the Kremlin described as “frank, constructive” and “productive”, started around midnight in Moscow and lasted about four hours.
Witkoff and Kushner were joined by Federal Procurement Service chief Josh Gruenbaum, who served as a senior adviser to the Trump Peace Board, which Russia was invited to join. As Russia considered the invitation, Putin reaffirmed his offer to send the board $1 billion from Russian assets frozen in the United States to fund the reconstruction of Gaza.
When asked about Putin’s suggestion to use Russia’s frozen assets to contribute to the Peace Board, Trump said he thought it would be okay. “If he’s using his money, that’s great,” he said
Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy met with Trump behind closed doors at the World Economic Forum in Davos for about an hour and described the meeting as “productive and meaningful.”
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Davos, Trump stated that his meeting with Zelenskyy went well, adding that both Putin and Zelenskyy wanted to reach an agreement and “everyone made concessions” to end the war.
He noted that the sticking points in the talks remained the same as in the talks held over the last six or seven months, noting that “borders” were an important issue. “The real hurdle is the same things that delayed it last year,” he said.
Russia’s massive army has managed to capture around 20% of Ukraine since hostilities began in 2014 and its large-scale invasion in 2022. But battlefield gains along the nearly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) frontline have been costly for Moscow, and the Russian economy is feeling the consequences of the war and international sanctions.
Ukraine is strapped for money and still needs Western weapons, even though it has significantly increased its own arms production. It is also short term on the front lines. The defense minister reported last week that nearly 200,000 soldiers had deserted and nearly 2 million Ukrainians had evaded military service.
Zelenskyy criticized European allies
Speaking at the World Economic Forum after his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy listed a series of complaints and criticisms against Europe.
Seeing their own future defense at risk in the war on the eastern flank, European countries have provided Kiev with financial, military and humanitarian support, but not all members of the 27-nation European Union are helping. Ukraine has also been frustrated by political disagreements in Europe over how to deal with Russia and the bloc’s sometimes slow-moving response.
In his speech, Zelenskyy said “Europe seems lost” and called on the continent to become a global power. He compared Europe’s response to Washington’s bold steps in Venezuela and Iran.
The former comic actor referenced the movie “Groundhog Day,” where the main character has to relive the same day over and over again.
“Last year, I ended my speech here in Davos with these words: Europe needs to know how to defend itself. A year has passed. And nothing has changed. We are still in a situation where I will have to say the same words again,” Zelenskyy said.
He chastised Europe for, among other things, moving slowly on key decisions, spending too little on defense, failing to stop Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers that violated international sanctions, and shying away from using its frozen assets in Europe to finance Ukraine.
More talks in UAE
Zelenskyy said that two-day trilateral meetings attended by the USA, Ukraine and Russia will start on Friday in the United Arab Emirates.
“The Russians need to be ready to compromise because, you know, everyone needs to be ready, not just Ukraine, and that’s important for us,” he said.
Kremlin deputy Ushakov confirmed that a Russian delegation will attend the meeting to be held in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, on Friday. He added that during the Kremlin meeting he expressed the hope that the United States would “open up the prospects for progress on all issues connected with ending the conflict and achieving a peaceful solution.”
Ushakov said the Russian delegation would be led by military intelligence chief Admiral Igor Kostyukov. He added that Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev will hold separate talks with Witkoff on economic issues in Abu Dhabi.
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Hrabchuk reported from Kyiv, Ukraine, and Manenkov from Davos, Switzerland. Josh Boak from Air Force One, Meg Kinnard from Houston and Ali Swenson from Washington contributed to this report.
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