'Foreign troops in Ukraine unacceptable': Putin's blunt message to Trump's envoys

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned that any foreign troops deployed in Ukraine would be considered "legitimate targets", saying their presence would threaten Russia's security. Putin made the remarks during a meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner at the Kremlin in Moscow.

According to Reuters, Putin said European countries wanted to deploy troops in Ukraine after a peace agreement and added that Moscow would consider them legitimate targets. "We said from the very beginning that the presence of any foreign troops on Ukrainian territory is absolutely unacceptable for us, because we believe it threatens the security of the Russian Federation," Putin said during the televised meeting, according to the Kremlin remarks reported by Reuters.

The meeting was attended by US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, alongside Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, defence minister Andrei Belousov and presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev. Referring to the possibility of European forces entering Ukraine after a peace agreement, Putin said, "That after peace is concluded, they will immediately bring troops into Ukraine. What does that mean? We have already said that for us it is a legitimate target, meaning the war will immediately resume."

He also said Russia wanted Washington to work with European countries on the wider security arrangements. "I would like the United States to work with Europe so that the Europeans could decide whether they want peace or war," Putin said. Putin further stressed that Moscow wanted a lasting settlement rather than a temporary pause in fighting, saying peace in Ukraine must be "eternal".

Kushner, during the meeting, told Putin that Russia and Ukraine had made progress in negotiations but remained divided over how to implement a peace agreement. He said the two sides had "agreed on many of the principles, but are still apart on some of the way to accomplish" peace, according to the Associated Press. Kushner also raised the issue of European participation in future negotiations, telling Putin that European countries wanted to be involved in discussions on Ukraine's future security arrangements. Washington has been seeking a broader negotiating framework involving European governments alongside Russia, Ukraine and the US.

Witkoff, meanwhile, highlighted progress made during the recent US-mediated negotiations in Abu Dhabi, particularly the agreement on a major prisoner-of-war exchange between Russia and Ukraine. He described the development as an encouraging sign in the diplomatic process.

Before entering the Kremlin, Witkoff was asked whether the progress in negotiations meant peace was closer. "I hope so," he replied, according to Reuters. The meeting followed two days of trilateral negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11. The talks resulted in an agreement on a prisoner exchange but failed to produce a breakthrough on territorial demands and post-war security arrangements.