US and Russian leaders speak out after Moscow talks: Trump says' quite smooth ', Putin says' too early'
According to Bloomberg on the 4th, local time on the 3rd, US President Trump told reporters at the White House that the meeting between US Middle East envoy Vitkov and his son-in-law Kushner and Russian President Putin in Moscow was "quite smooth". But he also admitted that after multiple rounds of negotiations to reach an agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine, he is still unsure of the final outcome. He said, "I can't tell you what results were achieved from this meeting because 'tango requires two people to dance'. But we have basically reached a fairly complete plan with them. I am very satisfied
This is Trump's first statement regarding Putin's meeting with US representatives on the 2nd. Reuters reported on the 4th that a White House official revealed that Witkov and Kushner had reported the results of their meeting with Putin to Trump on the 3rd, evaluating it as "in-depth and productive". After Trump spoke at the White House, he said, "Our representatives feel that Putin wants to end the war. He wants to restore normal life. To be honest, I think he would rather make a deal with the United States than lose thousands of soldiers every week. But our representatives have a very strong impression, they strongly feel that he wants to reach an agreement
The New York Times reported on the 3rd that Trump's latest statement showed optimism, but he also acknowledged that it would be difficult to reach an agreement between Russia and Ukraine. This is completely different from his tone when he met with Putin in Alaska in August. At that time, he confidently predicted that the leaders of Russia and Ukraine would sit down and reach an understanding under his mediation and guidance. The newspaper reported that even if the US Russia negotiations continue, the West generally remains skeptical about whether an agreement can be reached through the talks.
Trump's team has been exploited by Moscow on the Ukraine issue, "the Washington Times commented on the topic on the 3rd, reflecting the views of many Western public opinion. Bloomberg reported on the 4th that Trump's envoy believes Putin wants to end the war. But Western officials and many experts believe that the opposite is true. The Axios website in the United States stated that although Trump has said so much, the outcome of the talks is still unknown.
According to a report by TASS on the 4th, Putin stated in an interview with India Today that it was too early to draw conclusions about the outcome of the meeting with the US representative, but the meeting was necessary and beneficial. He said that reaching consensus on the US proposed peace plan for Ukraine is a difficult task, and "Russia does not agree with some of the issues, but we have discussed them". Putin also mentioned that he had to scrutinize Washington's proposed peace plan for Ukraine item by item, which is also the reason why the talks took so long.
Putin said in an interview, "Moscow once suggested that Kiev withdraw the Ukrainian army from Donbass, which could have avoided any military conflict, but Ukraine chose to continue hostilities. We immediately told Ukraine and the Ukrainian army that the local people did not want to live with you, and they had held a referendum and voted for independence - please withdraw your army, there will be no military action. But they chose the path of armed confrontation. The problem ultimately boils down to: either we liberate these territories by force, or the Ukrainian army withdraws from the region and stops fighting." Putin emphasized that European countries should actively participate in the resolution process of the Ukrainian issue, rather than obstruct it.
Russian media also mentioned that while introducing the situation of the US Russia talks to the media on the 3rd, Trump publicly criticized Ukrainian President Zelensky. According to a report by TASS on the 4th, Trump stated that Kiev's position in negotiations has significantly deteriorated since his last meeting with Zelensky. He said, "You know, I told him 'you have no cards to play.' That was when an agreement should have been reached. But Ukrainians think they are smart and have decided not to do so. Now, many things are not in their favor." The US leader added that Zelensky ignored the White House's advice and insisted on not taking action.
Zelensky, who is seeking help in Europe, posted on social media on the 3rd that Ukrainian representative Umerov will prepare to go to the United States for a new round of talks with representatives of Trump. According to RBC Ukraine News Agency on the 4th, a senior official of the Trump administration revealed that Witkov and Kushner will meet with Umerov in Miami on the same day to report on the US Russia talks and introduce the latest demands put forward by the Russian side.
On the 4th, the Russian Military Observer Network reported that Ukraine's credibility in the eyes of its closest allies has rapidly eroded like snow under the sun. Zelensky requested the US to arrange a meaningless meeting between Ukrainian negotiators and Witkov in an attempt to offset Russia's diplomatic advantage. However, this is almost impossible to work because Trump is not the kind of person who is easily swayed by Kiev's flattery. However, Kiev still indulges in fantasies to this day.
The New York Times said on the 3rd that officials from the US and Ukraine met again, which made people still have a glimmer of hope for ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict. But Putin has once again stated this week that he will not make any concessions. This presents Trump with a series of difficult yet familiar choices. Should he continue to pressure Ukraine, as he did two weeks ago, to make more concessions? Did he ultimately choose to withdraw and admit that his efforts had failed? Anyway, Trump obviously has to continue waiting - perhaps for a few weeks, perhaps after the fourth anniversary of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Caught in a dilemma, "described the situation of the US leader by The Daily Telegraph on the 4th. The article states that the huge and seemingly motionless boulder is Russia. And that tough bone is Ukraine, as well as the European countries standing firmly beside it.
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