"Vladimir Putin has said that the outline of a draft peace plan discussed by the US and Ukraine could serve as a basis for future negotiations to end the war but insisted Ukraine would have to surrender territory for any deal to be possible. In general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements, Putin said, noting that the version of the plan discussed by Washington and Kyiv in Geneva had been shared with Moscow."
"But in other points, we clearly need to sit down and talk. The Russian president's uncompromising remarks in which he again described Volodymyr Zelenskyy as illegitimate suggested that, despite White House optimism, there is little sign of movement on the core sticking points needed to end the war. Speaking to reporters during a working visit to Kyrgyzstan, Putin said Russia would halt its offensive only if Ukrainian forces withdrew from unspecified areas currently under Kyiv's control."
"Putin confirmed that the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, would travel to Russia early next week, and dismissed accusations that Witkoff had shown bias towards Moscow during peace discussions, calling them nonsense. Witkoff, a longtime Trump business associate and property developer, has faced criticism in Europe and the US after a leaked phone call revealed him advising a senior Kremlin aide on how Putin should handle negotiations with Trump."
Putin said a US-Ukraine draft peace plan could provide a basis for future negotiations but insisted any deal would require Ukraine to surrender territory. Moscow received the version discussed in Geneva and sees some US consideration of Russian positions, while other points require further talks. Putin described Ukraine's leadership as illegitimate and said that made signing a binding agreement with Kyiv legally impossible without broader international recognition. He warned Russia would stop its offensive only if Ukrainian forces withdrew from unspecified areas; otherwise Russia would pursue military aims. Putin confirmed US envoy Steve Witkoff would visit Russia and dismissed bias claims against him.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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