 "Putin meets Trump envoys Witkoff and Kushner in Kremlin to discuss Ukraine peace")
Russian President Vladimir Putin met US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner at the Kremlin on Tuesday for talks aimed at exploring a path to end the war in Ukraine — Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.
The high-stakes meeting came shortly after Putin issued a stark warning to European governments, saying the continent would face a “swift defeat” if it entered into a military confrontation with Russia.
He also rejected newly proposed European counter-plans for peace, calling them “absolutely unacceptable to Russia.”
Trump has repeatedly vowed to bring the war to an end, though his diplomatic pushes — including an August summit with Putin in Alaska and multiple meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy — have yet to deliver a breakthrough.
Tensions spiked last week after the leak of 28 US draft peace proposals that alarmed Kyiv and several European capitals.
Critics said the document appeared to concede to key Russian demands, including curbs on Nato, recognition of Moscow’s control over roughly one-fifth of Ukraine, and limits on the size and capabilities of Ukraine’s armed forces.
In response, European governments put forward their own counter-proposal.
After subsequent talks in Geneva, the United States and Ukraine announced they had produced an “updated and refined peace framework” intended to move negotiations forward.
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View All“I am so pleased to see you,” Reuters quoted Putin as telling Witkoff and Kushner when they met on Tuesday.
“It is a magnificent city,” Witkoff told Putin after earlier strolling with Kushner and the Russian leader’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev on Red Square near the mausoleum of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin.
Dmitriev and Putin aide Yuri Ushakov were also at the Kremlin meeting, along with interpreters.
After the initial pleasantries of the meeting, the Kremlin’s broadcast of the meeting turned off, as expected. It won’t be until after the closed-door meeting ends that details emerge regarding what the negotiation teams discussed.
With inputs from agencies
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