‘Putin wants to end the war’, talks between the US and Ukraine today

 ‘Putin wants to end the war’, talks between the US and Ukraine today

Although the main talks between the United States and Russia have ended without any major progress, President Trump says he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to end the war in Ukraine.

According to the Associated Press news agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Wittkoff in Moscow on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, when a reporter asked US President Donald Trump about the talks, he said, “I can tell you that my meeting with the president was very good.” He later called it a “very good meeting.”

President Trump said that “it’s too early to say what will happen because it is only possible with the consent of both sides.”

When asked if special envoys Steve Wittkoff and Jared Kushner had received any indication that Vladimir Putin really wanted to end the war, the US president replied that “he would like to end the war. That was his impression.”

President Trump added that Ukraine had “quite a lot” of support for the US plan, although he also said that Kiev should have done so earlier, when he held a tough meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in February.

US officials told AFP that Steve Wittkoff and Jared Kushner would now meet Ukraine’s top negotiator Rustam Umarov in Florida on Thursday to move the talks forward in the Kremlin.

“We did not reach an agreement, but some of the US proposals may be discussed,” Yuri Ushakov, a senior adviser to the Russian president, said after the talks. "Some of the proposals presented are not acceptable to us, and the work will continue."

‘Putin is feigning interest in peace’

Ukraine and its European allies say Russian President Vladimir Putin is ‘feigning interest in peace efforts’.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Russian leaders should ‘stop the deception and bloodshed and come to the table and support a just and lasting peace.’

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibyl urged President Putin to ‘stop wasting the world’s time.’

European NATO foreign ministers showed little patience with Moscow during a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margis Tsahkna said: ‘What we are seeing is that Putin has not changed his course. He is becoming more aggressive on the battlefield. It is very clear that they do not want any kind of peace.’

Finnish Foreign Minister Elena Valtonen said, ‘So far we have not seen any concessions from Russia, and I think the best step to build confidence would be to start with a complete ceasefire.’

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Ukraine’s partners would continue to provide military assistance to keep up the pressure on Moscow. Peace talks are ongoing, which is good.

He added, ‘We need to make sure that while these talks are ongoing and we do not know when they will end, Ukraine is in the strongest position to continue the fight and to resist the Russians effectively.’