Moscow [Russia], December 3: Russian President Vladimir Putin spent about five hours negotiating with US President Donald Trump's special envoys on possible outlines for a peaceful solution to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov and Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev, began talks with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, at the Kremlin at around 7:30 p.m. on December 2 (Moscow time), according to Reuters.
The two sides spoke through interpreters until after midnight Moscow time, when the Kremlin announced the talks would only end at around 00:30 on December 3.
"Our people are in Russia to see if we can solve this problem. I have to say, this is not an easy situation," President Trump said in Washington DC on December 2 (US time), saying that there are 25,000 to 30,000 casualties per month in the Russia-Ukraine conflict , according to Reuters.
The discussions focused on the main contents of the US-backed peace framework, initially revolving around a 28-point draft leaked to the media last month, surprising and marginalizing Western European countries supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to RT.
The US delegation handed over four more documents to their Russian counterparts related to the peace settlement. The main issues of territory, security guarantees, aspirations to join NATO and restrictions on the Ukrainian army were discussed, according to Mr. Ushakov.
After the talks, Mr. Ushakov answered a question on the subject by mentioning "huge potential" for cooperation between the two sides, according to RT. "Some of the US proposals were accepted by Russia, while others were not," Mr. Ushakov said.
Asked whether peace was closer or further away after these talks, Ushakov replied: "Certainly not further." Ushakov added that no compromise had been found and that there were currently no plans for a meeting between Putin and Trump, according to RT.
However, Mr Ushakov said the "conversation was very useful and constructive", although "there is still a lot of work to be done both in Washington and Moscow".
Asked if the two sides' positions had become more different after the meeting, Mr. Ushakov replied: "Certainly not," according to AFP. According to Mr. Ushakov, both sides also agreed not to disclose the content of the negotiations. The US side has not yet commented on the negotiations.
Source: Thanh Nieu Newspaper
