US President Donald Trump has praised talks held with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the US-proposed ceasefire deal in Ukraine as “good and productive”. This comes after Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff met in Moscow on Thursday evening, during which they exchanged information and shared the US’s “cautious optimism” over a peace process, the Kremlin confirmed. Trump’s Truth Social post on Friday said the talks provided “a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, maintained that Putin’s response so far shows Russia wants to continue the war and does not want a ceasefire. On Thursday, Putin had said the idea of a ceasefire was “right and we support it… but there are nuances” and he set out a number of tough conditions for peace, a response branded “manipulative” by Zelensky. Ukraine’s leader continued his criticism on Friday in a series of posts on X, writing: “Putin cannot exit this war because that would leave him with nothing.
Source link
