The issue was discussed during the Russian president’s latest meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Dmitry Peskov has said
Special Envoy of the US President Steven Witkoff (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (R). © Kremlin Press Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated Moscow’s readiness for unconditional talks with Ukraine during a recent meeting with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has revealed.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Peskov confirmed that the topic was brought up during the meeting between the Russian president and the US special envoy at the Kremlin on Friday.
“During yesterday’s conversation with Trump’s envoy Witkoff, Vladimir Putin reiterated that the Russian side is ready to resume the negotiation process with Ukraine without any preconditions,” Peskov stated.
The spokesperson stressed that the Russian president has repeatedly spoken about Moscow’s readiness for talks.
In October of 2022, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky issued a decree explicitly banning all talks with Russia for as long as Putin is in charge. Since then, Kiev has somewhat softened its position, with Zelensky claiming later on that the provision applied to everyone in the country besides himself. As of late, Kiev has been demanding an unconditional ceasefire to be implemented before any talks could happen.
The Putin-Witkoff meeting on Friday was the latest in a series of contacts between Moscow and Washington in recent months. The US special envoy, seen as a key figure behind kickstarting negotiations on the Ukraine conflict, has held multiple rounds of talks with senior Russian officials, including at least three meetings with the Russian president.
Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, and presidential investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev also took part in the meeting. Ushakov described the three-hour conversation as “constructive and very useful in nature.”
“The conversation allowed us to further align the Russian and US positions not only on Ukraine, but also on a number of other international issues,” he said on Friday, confirming that the possibility of resuming direct talks between Moscow and Kiev was discussed during the meeting.