Photo: EPA
Russia expects a U.S. delegation in Moscow next week.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin said there were no draft peace agreements on Ukraine — only a list of issues for discussion. He made the remarks at a press conference on 27 November after returning from the CSTO summit in Kyrgyzstan.
Putin added that Russia is “generally in agreement” that the set of U.S. points on Ukraine could serve as a basis for future talks. “After the Geneva discussions between Ukraine and the U.S., they decided among themselves to divide all 28 points into four sections. All of this was passed to us. Overall, we agree that it could form the basis for future arrangements. We see that the American side is taking our position into account in some areas, and in others we clearly need to sit down and talk,” he said.
According to Putin, the proposal “needs to be formulated in diplomatic language,” since “some points currently sound ridiculous.”
He also said Moscow expects U.S. negotiators to arrive in the first half of next week. Russia will be represented by the foreign ministry and Vladimir Medinsky.
Putin reiterated that fighting will stop only when Ukrainian forces withdraw from occupied areas in Donbas: “If Ukrainian troops leave the territories they hold, then we will halt combat operations; if not, we will achieve this militarily.”
He claimed that Russia has increased the “pace of returning territories.”
Putin concluded that a peace plan could be signed if “all provisions from the received list are implemented,” but noted that “it is too early to talk about that.”
He dismissed reports about talks in Abu Dhabi involving Russia as “information noise,” adding that Russian and Ukrainian intelligence services remain in contact, mainly on humanitarian issues.
As Politico reported, Donald Trump’s main goal is to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, regardless of what the final peace deal might look like. According to Axios, Trump’s initial plan included NATO-style security guarantees for Ukraine. Next week, Trump plans to send his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow for talks with Putin. While the document was shortened to 19 points after the Geneva discussions with Ukraine, Putin continues referring to the original version.
