Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top aide Yury Ushakov reported at greater length on the progress achieved in yesterday’s three-hour discussion between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff. Ushakov opened his report:
“This meeting took place in a business-like atmosphere and was quite constructive. Both sides can be satisfied with the outcomes of this conversation. The discussion focused on matters dealing with future efforts to work together in the context of resolving the Ukraine crisis. Once again, it was noted that Russia-U.S. relations could be placed on a totally different, mutually beneficial footing, which would be in stark contrast with the way these relations have evolved in recent years.”
Apparently, the future efforts to resolve the conflict involve removing Russia-U.S. relations from being geopolitical enemies. The mutually beneficial relationship might refer to symbiotic economic developments, but, minimally, it would have to at least address re-establishing former treaties on nuclear weaponry. Then, secondarily, Ushakov addressed the present agenda:
“Regarding the Ukraine agenda, at the proposal of the United States, there was a principled agreement to hold a top-level bilateral meeting in the coming days, which means a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Together with our American colleagues, we are about to start working on the specific parameters of this meeting and its venue. Basically, the venue has also been coordinated, and we will communicate on this point a little later.
“As for the option of holding a trilateral meeting, which for some reason became a subject of speculation yesterday in Washington, the U.S. representative simply mentioned it during the meeting at the Kremlin. However, there was no specific discussion on this topic. Russia has not commented on this option in any way. Our suggestion primarily focuses on preparing for a bilateral meeting with Donald Trump. It is our belief that ensuring this meeting is a success and yields tangible results is what matters most.”
Ushakov made clear that, while they would work to have a bilateral meeting next week, it was conditional. He explained: “Next week was suggested as a possible timeframe [for holding the meeting], but since the effort to prepare for this important event is only just beginning for both parties, it is hard to say how long the preparations will take. That said, the option of holding this meeting sometime next week was on the table, and we hold quite a positive view in this regard.”
