– Europe Press/Contact/Alexander Kazakov
Madrid, December 2 (European Press) –
The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the US delegation, headed by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, concluded after five hours, as they resume talks frozen in recent weeks for a ceasefire in Ukraine, amid escalating attacks.
Putin’s advisor, Yuri Ushakov, described the meeting as “constructive, very useful and informative,” stressing that the Kremlin addressed “several variations of the plan” proposed by the resident of the White House, Donald Trump, for Ukraine, which was criticized by European leaders because of the concessions that Kiev must make to Moscow.
He said in statements to the press, reported by the Russian news agency TASS: “The matter did not last five minutes, but five hours. That is, we had the opportunity to comprehensively discuss the prospects for further joint action to achieve a peaceful and lasting solution to the Ukrainian crisis.”
But he acknowledged that they “have not yet committed to the plan,” because “some” of the proposed details are “acceptable” to Russia, “while others are not.” However, he explained that they discussed the “essence” of the plan, not the specific formulations. Moreover, Putin – who conveyed “friendly” greetings to Trump – assessed the “destructive actions of the Europeans” in this regard.
On the other hand, Ushakov stressed that “contacts between Russia and the United States will continue” and that the two countries “have not distanced themselves” from their position on the regional issue. In turn, they discussed the prospects for economic cooperation between the two powers.
Before the meeting, Putin held a press conference in which he accused European countries of “obstructing” the efforts promoted by the Donald Trump administration to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine, on the occasion of the Russian invasion that began in February 2022.