Ukraine: Moscow and Washington continue talks with Kyiv
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on SABC News
The Kremlin says it is ready to keep working with Washington on Ukraine, provided its security concerns are taken into account. According to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, Moscow and Washington have agreed to continue trilateral talks with Kyiv, while a large-scale prisoner exchange is under consideration, with its terms still to be set.
Russia and the United States have agreed to continue trilateral peace talks with Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said, after a meeting of more than two hours between Vladimir Putin and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. On the US side, Mr Witkoff said that a new round of trilateral talks had been agreed.
The Kremlin also announced a planned meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at the next APEC summit, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. The talks also cover a possible large-scale prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kyiv, the details of which remain to be determined, according to Mr Ushakov. Mr Witkoff has pledged to pass on the outcome of the Moscow meeting to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Vladimir Putin says Russia wants lasting peace in Ukraine, but warns that an agreement leaving territorial and security questions unresolved would be unstable. He reiterates his opposition to the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine, which he considers legitimate targets for Russian forces, and calls on Washington to work with European countries to find out whether they want peace or confrontation.
This step follows the Abu Dhabi talks, which the Kremlin had entrusted to Vladimir Medinski on 10 November. It also comes after the meeting between Witkoff, Kushner and Putin in Moscow on 12 November, and the announcement of European participation in the next negotiations.
