Putin to discuss Ukraine peace with US envoys after Trump says a deal is reasonably close
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss on Thursday a possible peace plan for Ukraine with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow after President Donald J. Trump said a deal to end the war was “reasonably close.”
The United States has held talks with Russia, and separately with Kyiv and European leaders, on various different drafts of a plan for ending the war in Ukraine, but no deal has yet been reached despite Mr. Trump’s repeated promises to clinch one.
Mr. Putin, speaking at a Russian Security Council meeting late on Wednesday, said that he would meet Mr. Trump’s special envoy Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Mr. Kushner in Moscow to “continue dialogue on the Ukrainian settlement” as well as Mr. Trump’s “Board of Peace” idea.
At stake is how to end the deadliest war in Europe since World War II, the future of Ukraine, the extent to which European powers are sidelined and whether or not a peace deal brokered by the United States will endure.
“I believe they’re at a point now where they can come together and get a deal done,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Mr. Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “And if they don’t, they’re stupid.” — Reuters
