"Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops in the Donbas, comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. His renewed determination to take the region appeared to pour cold water on US President Donald Trump's earlier assertion that Witkoff and Kushner had thought the Russian leader wanted to end the war."
"Putin's comments came amid reports that special envoy Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Kushner will meet top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov in Florida on Thursday as a follow-up to the five hours of talks in Moscow on Tuesday. Embattled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been bogged down by Russia's advance and a domestic corruption scandal, maintains that he does not have the power to sign away Ukrainian territory and that Russia should, in any case, not be rewarded for its invasion."
Vladimir Putin reaffirmed plans to seize Ukraine's eastern Donbas region by force if Ukrainian troops do not withdraw, asserting liberation or forced departure as the only outcomes. He maintained maximalist territorial demands that impede any negotiated settlement. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks in Moscow and were later reported to meet Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov in Florida as a follow-up. Donald Trump said the envoys believed Putin wanted a deal, but Putin's statements contradicted that impression. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he lacks authority to cede territory and the Ukrainian constitution forbids ceding land.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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