Kremlin calls Putin–US envoy talks frank, constructive

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has described his talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as substantive, constructive and “extremely frank”, held in a trusting atmosphere in Moscow, the Kremlin said on Sunday.

Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said the discussions, which centred on “extremely serious issues”, took place in a working format and continued informally over dinner, lasting three hours and 10 minutes. Putin reaffirmed Russia’s readiness to pursue joint efforts with Washington towards political and diplomatic solutions to the Ukraine conflict, Russian state media reported.

According to Ushakov, the Russian side presented clear and comprehensive assessments of the situation on the ground amid what Moscow terms its “special military operation”. He said the talks noted tangible advances by Russian forces in the combat zone, expressed confidence in meeting stated objectives and underlined the need to remove all root causes of the conflict.

Beyond the Ukraine crisis, the two sides examined economic issues and explored the prospect of large-scale, mutually beneficial projects between Russia and the United States, Ushakov added. He characterised the negotiations as timely and highly beneficial, confirming that the two heads of state would maintain direct contact and that work through Witkoff and Kushner would continue.

The US envoys undertook to convey to Kyiv, during contacts scheduled for Sunday, the observations and assessments they received directly from Putin on achieving a durable peaceful settlement, the Kremlin aide said. The visit follows Putin’s order for a 72-hour suspension of Russian strikes on Kyiv, announced by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Saturday in connection with the envoys’ trip. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy separately said Kyiv would refrain from striking Moscow over the same period if Russia reciprocated.

Peskov earlier told journalists that the meeting with Putin would indeed take place and would likely be lengthy, urging against speculation on possible settlement proposals ahead of the outcome. Video released by the Kremlin showed Putin greeting Witkoff and Kushner and asking them to pass on his best wishes and gratitude to US President Donald Trump.

(Inputs from IANS)