Putin receives Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow, insists international borders are the only line of contact

Russian President Vladimir Putin received in Moscow the special envoys of US President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as part of the efforts aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

At the outset of the meeting, Putin affirmed his gratitude to Trump for organizing communications with the Ukrainian side, noting that the trilateral negotiations held in Abu Dhabi made progress on humanitarian files, and that the two sides reached "an agreement to carry out a wide prisoner exchange," which Witkoff described as "one of the largest exchange operations between the two countries."

On the Ukrainian file, Putin affirmed that Moscow wants "a long-term peace," but stressed a firm Russian position: "The only line of contact with Ukraine for Russia is the international borders of the state." He noted that the Ukrainian side is raising the issue of "gray zones."

Putin categorically rejected the deployment of European forces on Ukrainian territory, saying that "this is unacceptable to us. It poses a threat to Russia's security," and that these forces would become legitimate targets and that this would mean the war flaring up again. He demanded that Washington work with the Europeans on this matter.

Putin also proposed carrying out a humanitarian operation in the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, along the lines of the operation that took place last month in the city of Oleshky in the Kherson region, noting that there are 400 to 500 civilians in the city, which is under the control of Russian forces, and announcing his intention to invite foreign, American and Russian journalists to the site.

For his part, Witkoff affirmed that Trump believes that "ending the conflict quickly is extremely important," and revealed a plan to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later to inform him of the results of the Moscow meeting, expressing his hope to announce the date of the next round of trilateral negotiations.

Kushner explained that they will seek to "convince Zelensky of the necessity of following one of the paths to end the conflict successfully," affirming that Europe wants to end the war and ensure a lasting peace, and that Washington is working to build a security architecture that includes Russia, Ukraine and Europe.

The Russian delegation included Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, special envoy Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and Putin adviser Vladimir Medinsky, who heads the negotiating delegation with Ukraine.