Russia has expressed willingness to hold peace talks with Ukraine ‘without preconditions’, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin told US envoy Steve Witkoff at a meeting on Friday that Moscow was ready for talks with Kyiv.
“During yesterday’s talks with Trump’s envoy Witkoff, Vladimir Putin reiterated that Russia is ready to resume negotiations with Ukraine without any preconditions,” Peskov said, adding that Putin has repeated that several times in the past.
US President Donald Trump had on Friday said that a deal regarding ending the Russia-Ukraine War was ‘close’. But just a day after saying that, the Republican leader expressed doubt over Putin’s willingness to end the war.
Trump said in a post on the social media platform Truth Social that “there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days.” Trump hinted at further sanctions against Russia while flying back to the United States after Pope Francis’ funeral.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” Trump wrote.
Donald Trump’s meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky
Both the remarks from the Kremlin expressing willingness for talks and the doubt expressed by Donald Trump came hours after the US President met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky at the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican, earlier on Saturday.
Both leaders briefly met each other before the funeral and held a private meeting, which the White House termed ‘productive’. This was their first meeting since their public spat in Washington on February 28.
“We discussed a lot one-on-one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you,” Zelensky wrote on X.
Vladimir Putin did not attend Francis’ funeral. He faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, which has accused him of war crimes stemming from Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
