Putin does not oppose negotiating with Europeans, but discards Western troops

O Russian President assured today that he is not opposed to European participation in the negotiations, but warned that the presence of foreign troops for a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine would be viewed as a threat.

“ For us, this would be a legitimate target,” said Vladimir Putin during a meeting at the Kremlin with the White House special envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, broadcast on state television.

“ In other words, the war would resume immediately,” the Russian leader added.

Kushner and Witkoff traveled today to Moscow where they were welcomed by Putin to continue their attempts to end the conflict one day after the trilateral talks between Kyiv, Moscow and Washington in Abu Dhabi.

During the meeting, Witkoff expressed to Putin that he hopes to “include Europeans” at a forthcoming meeting.

“If we choose a multilateral format, we can continue to move towards problem solving,” added Jared Kushner.

Putin assured that he never opposed dialogue with Europe, alluding to possible European participation in future rounds of negotiations on the agreement in Ukraine.

The Russian leader asked the White House envoys to clarify in their contacts with Europeans whether they want peace or war.

“It was they who suspended the dialogue,” he said, leaving open a possible European participation in future rounds of negotiations on the agreement in Ukraine.

“ We would very much like you, the US administration as a whole, to speak with your European partners to decide once and for all what you want: peace or war in Ukraine?”, he said.

If you want the first option, “of course we’ll be willing to work with them,” he said.

However, Europe has remained out of negotiations and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself has called for the integration of European allies into the peace negotiations.

At the same meeting, Putin proposed a new humanitarian operation, this time in the Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, which is at the centre of the fighting in the east of the country, in the Donetsk region.

“There, there are still about 400 to 500 civilians,” Putin said.

The Russian Head of State thanked the “active participation” of the US First Lady Melania Trump in resolving the humanitarian issue in Oleshky, Kherson region, and considered that the new mission could be implemented as well as the previous one.

“ We have had a very positive experience with humanitarian cooperation in the locality of Oleshky,” he added.

Putin said that Moscow's forces will need five days to delimit access to the city and stressed that if Kyiv refuses to have lost full control of the city, it will also have to ensure security.

Putin stated that Russia is willing to invite representatives of the international media to the humanitarian mission site so that they can report what they will see and who really controls this city at the moment.

Russia and Ukraine completed, at the end of October, an unprecedented humanitarian mission in Oleshky, which took place in the framework of a ceasefire strictly respected by both sides of the conflict.

Russia claimed to have conquered the Ukrainian bastion of Kostiantynivka last July, although Kyiv denied Moscow control of the entire city.

The fighting by Kostiantinivka, whose takeover paves the way for the conquest of Slovaksk and Kramatorsk — the main objectives of the Russian offensive in the Donbass — began in October 2025.

The Russian President also assured the emissaries of the White House that he wants “everlasting peace” with Ukraine, where there are clear border lines, respected by both parties.

“ For us, there is a line of separation. The state border line. Thus, it will be understandable and clear: here we are and there you,” Putin said at the beginning of the meeting, in which he warned that otherwise the “grey zones” will continue to be “the apple of discord.”.

Putin, who recalled that it was Kyiv who proposed the creation of “grey zones” — demilitarized areas — in the Donbass, considered that the territorial issue should be resolved once and for all so that there is a “lasting peace”.

“ As soon as we enter into the discussion about the ‘grey zones’, each one interprets them differently, the disputes immediately arise and the instability of any agreement becomes evident”, he defended.