Putin opens negotiations on Ukraine with Trump emissaries in Moscow

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, opened negotiations on Ukraine this Saturday with White House emissaries, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who arrived in Moscow this Saturday to revive the stalled peace process.

"The situation we are going to deal with is, of course, not easy," Putin said at the beginning of the meeting in which he greeted his interlocutors in English: "Welcome. Nice to meet you."

He added that "first of all," he wanted to convey "best wishes" and "words of gratitude" to US President Donald Trump. "I understand that, in general, he faces a complicated situation. However, he does not give up in his attempts at a settlement, in contributing to the solution of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict," said the Russian president about the American.

Furthermore, Putin has stressed that contacts with American mediators are always "beneficial." "Of course, the quality of the mediator is very important, the trust they receive. I want to convey to you that it is comfortable for us to work with you. Without a doubt, the level of trust on our part is high," he noted. "For our part, we will also inform you about how we see the situation," he indicated.

Regarding the cessation of attacks between Moscow and kyiv for three days, Putin explained that Russia "will do everything possible to guarantee the security of the negotiating process and the mediators", but has denied an agreement with kyiv for a "broader" three-day truce.

Meanwhile, Witkoff has conveyed Trump's "best wishes" to Putin and thanked the Russian leader for stopping the bombing to guarantee the safe passage of the official US plane.

The meeting, which took place in the Grand Kremlin Palace, was also attended by the Kremlin's international policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov, and the presidential emissary for economic cooperation with the United States, Kiril Dmitriev.

The US emissaries arrived shortly after noon in Moscow, but Putin had a busy schedule this Saturday due to Moscow Day and other electoral events, as Russia holds legislative elections in two weeks.

The meeting, the first since January 22, takes place less than two weeks after the visit to Moscow by CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

Next stop, kyiv

After this Saturday's meeting, Witkoff and Kushner will travel to kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In order to facilitate the arrival of American mediators, Putin and Zelensky ordered air strikes against their enemy's capitals, kyiv and Moscow, to cease for three days.

Trump acknowledged this Friday night that his envoys "carry with them a proposal to end the war. Because I put an end to eight wars," he emphasized.

Putin this week showed himself willing to receive Witkoff and Kushner, but has for the moment rejected both a prolonged ceasefire and a possible tripartite summit with the US and Ukraine, unless it is to sign a definitive peace.

Russian-Ukrainian negotiations have been stalled since last February, when the US and Israeli military operation against Iran began.