Vladimir Putin said his five-hour negotiations with U.S. representatives on ending the Ukraine war were “necessary” and “useful” but also involved “difficult work,” adding that some proposals were unacceptable to the Kremlin.
The remarks were made in an interview with India Today TV ahead of Putin’s visit to New Delhi on Thursday. Although the full interview has yet to air, excerpts were carried by Russian state agencies Tass and RIA Novosti.
Putin’s comments came as U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner prepare to meet Ukraine’s lead negotiator Rustem Umerov in Miami on Thursday. A senior Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the planned meeting.
The discussions form part of Trump’s renewed push to bring an end to the nearly four-year conflict. While momentum has gathered around the peace effort, aligning Russia’s and Ukraine’s “red lines” continues to appear challenging.
On Wednesday, Trump said Witkoff and Kushner emerged from their lengthy session with Putin in the Kremlin convinced that the Russian leader genuinely wants to end the war.
“Their impression was very strongly that he’d like to make a deal,” Trump said.
According to Tass, Putin explained that during the Kremlin talks the two sides “had to go through each point” of the U.S. peace proposal, “which is why it took so long.”
“This was a necessary conversation, a very concrete one,” the Russian president said.
Putin added that while Moscow is prepared to discuss certain provisions, others “we can't agree to.”
“It's difficult work,” he said.
(With inputs from AP)
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