According to Ushakov, Putin flagged “the destructive actions of the European side” — an indication he may try to pin the blame for any failure to reach a peace deal on the EU, which was notably left out of the meeting.
Trump’s latest push to inject new momentum into a ceasefire effort — with a plan that, in its original 28-point leaked version, heavily favored Moscow —has ramped up pressure on Kyiv and alarmed European officials.
Among other things, it asks Ukraine to give up territory in the country’s east not yet occupied by Russian forces and to formalize that it will not seek to join NATO.
Though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the talks as confronting Ukraine with possibly the “most difficult moment in history,” he has signaled he is open to dialogue.
Less clear is what Trump is requiring from Russia, or what Moscow is willing to concede.
In the days preceding the Moscow talks, Putin showed no signs of straying from his demand of Ukraine’s effective capitulation, denouncing Zelenskyy as an illegitimate leader with whom he could not strike a deal.