Moscow shares Washington’s desire to end the conflict as soon as possible, the Russian president has said
Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed cautious optimism that the Alaska summit brings “us closer” to resolving the Ukraine conflict. The Russian leader also noted that Moscow and Washington are on the same page regarding the need to end the hostilities as soon as possible.
The talks in Anchorage, which lasted nearly three hours, marked the first face-to-face meeting between Russian and American leaders since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.
Speaking on Saturday, Putin said that his “visit was timely and quite useful.”
“The conversation was very frank, substantive and, in my opinion, it brings us closer to the necessary solutions,” he added.
“We talked about practically all areas of our interaction – first of all, of course, we discussed a possible resolution of the Ukraine crisis on a fair basis,” Putin detailed.
The Russian delegation “had the opportunity to convey our position once again, calmly and in detail,” as well as to discuss the “genesis, the causes of [the Ukraine] crisis.”
“Precisely the elimination of these root causes should underlie the [conflict] resolution,” Putin emphasized, adding that Moscow shares the Trump administration’s desire to put an end to the hostilities as soon as possible, and ideally “by peaceful means.”
In an interview to Fox News following the Alaska summit, President Trump similarly described his talks with the Russian leader as “warm,” and that the two of them “agreed on a lot.”
According to Trump, Washington and Moscow have come “pretty close to the end” of the Ukraine conflict, though “Ukraine has to agree” to any potential peace deal. The US president acknowledged that there remained “one or two pretty significant items” to work out, but expressed optimism that they would be resolved soon enough.
In the wake of his negotiations with Putin, Trump seems to have sided with Moscow in holding the view that the conflict should be ended through a permanent agreement rather than a mere ceasefire.
Ukraine and its European backers have for months insisted on a temporary cessation of hostilities as a precondition for peace talks.
While Russia never ruled out the idea completely, it has pointed to serious obstacles to the plan, arguing that it would allow Kiev to receive more Western weapons and recoup its battered units.
The Kremlin has insisted that Ukraine must commit to staying out of NATO, as well as recognize the new territorial reality on the ground. This includes the status of the regions of Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye, all of which voted to become parts of Russia.
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