Following discussions aimed at putting an end to the more than three-year conflict, US President Donald Trump’s special minister said on Monday that Vladimir Putin was willing to reach a “permanent peace” package with Ukraine.
Trump has repeatedly pressed Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a ceasefire, but despite repeated discussions between Russian and US officials, he has failed to get any significant agreements from the Kremlin.
Putin’s next meeting with Trump’s special representative, Steve Witkoff, since the Republican leader’s January return to the White House, took place on Friday in Saint Petersburg.
Two important Putin consultants, Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, were present at the” powerful gathering,” according to Witkoff in a Fox News interview on Monday.
Puntin wants to achieve lasting peacefulness in this country. So we got an answer after the peace, Witkoff said, acknowledging that “it took a while for us to get to this spot.”
” I believe that something very, very important for the world as a whole may be on the horizon.”
He added that the discussions also included business deals between Russia and the United States.
” I think there’s a chance to reshape the Russian-United relationship through some very lucrative business opportunities, which I think will also give the region real stability,” he said.
Despite a flurry of diplomatic efforts, Trump’s primary goal of achieving a peace with Ukraine has not made much progress.
Putin last quarter rejected a combined US-Ukrainian request for a total and absolute stop to the fight, while the Kremlin has made a peace in the Black Sea contingent on the raising of specific restrictions from the West.
Read more: Trump accuses Zelenskyy of starting a conflict once more.
