Kremlin says Putin tells Trump immediate resumption of Ukraine peace talks unlikely
Russian President Vladimir Putin told US President Donald Trump on Friday that Kyiv had undermined the possibility of an immediate resumption of trilateral Ukraine peace talks by launching drone attacks on Moscow during last month’s election, the Kremlin said.
Trump has so far unsuccessfully tried to broker a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Russia’s war in Ukraine was at a dangerous stalemate and that the United States would continue working towards a settlement to end the conflict.
Putin had said Moscow was ready to resume negotiations with Kyiv after last month’s Russian parliamentary elections. However, he claimed that Ukraine launched attacks on Moscow and hit polling stations, putting the peace process in jeopardy.
“By launching a massive drone attack on Moscow, other cities and polling stations, as well as on specific individuals involved in organising the election, on the main voting day, the Kyiv regime effectively disrupted the possibility of an immediate resumption of the negotiation process,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said, describing the phone call with Trump.
“And now, as the president said, we will consider when those negotiations can be resumed,” Ushakov added, referring to trilateral negotiations involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine.
Ushakov also said Putin and Trump discussed major economic initiatives during the phone call, including potential supplies of Russian fuel.
Trump said earlier on Friday, following the call with Putin, that Russia had agreed to immediately supply diesel to the United States and global markets in an effort to lower fuel prices ahead of next month’s US midterm elections. However, analysts said the quantities would likely have little impact on prices.
Credit: Reuters
