Russian President Vladimir Putin said the U.S.-backed peace proposal in the Ukraine–Russia war is just a starting point for more discussion and reiterated his precondition that Kyiv accept the Kremlin’s territorial demands.
He told reporters Thursday that Mr. Trump’s plan is “a set of issues put forward for discussion” rather than a draft plan for an actual peace.
“We need to sit down and discuss this seriously,” Mr. Putin said during a visit to Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia. “Every word matters.”
He also repeated his demand that Ukraine withdraw from all territories in that country that Russia claims — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia — before negotiations can happen.
“If Ukrainian troops withdraw from the territories they occupy, hostilities will cease. If they don’t withdraw, we will achieve this by force,” he said.
Ukraine and its European backers have called that demand unacceptable and effectively a surrender.
The Russians haven’t said much about the peace plan Mr. Trump has put forward, but Ukraine has agreed to some of it.
The original 28-point plan was criticized for the amount Ukraine had to give up to Russia, including land and NATO membership.
Talks in Geneva, Switzerland, between U.S. and Ukrainian delegates saw Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreeing to “core terms” of the plan.
A new proposal was presented to Russia after the meeting.
Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is set to head to Moscow next week, while U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll heads to Ukraine.
Mr. Witkoff recently came under criticism for leaked audio that showed him advising a senior official close to Mr. Putin last month on how best to pitch a Ukraine peace plan to Mr. Trump.
In a phone conversation in mid-October, Mr. Witkoff advised Yuri Ushakov to have the Russian leader call Mr. Trump to congratulate him on the signing of the Gaza peace deal and call him a “man of peace,” before bringing up a new Ukraine peace plan.
“Maybe he says to President Trump: ’You know, Steve and Yuri discussed a very similar 20-point plan to peace and that could be something that we think might move the needle a little bit, we’re open to those sorts of things,’” Mr. Witkoff said in the call, according to the transcript.
Mr. Trump has defended the call.
“He’s got to sell this to Ukraine. He’s got to sell Ukraine to Russia,” he told reporters earlier this week aboard Air Force One. “That’s what a dealmaker does.”
But the call was criticized by U.S. lawmakers, including Rep. Don Bacon, Nebraska Republican, who called for Mr. Witkoff to be fired.
“For those who oppose the Russian invasion and want to see Ukraine prevail as a sovereign & democratic country, it is clear that Witkoff fully favors the Russians. He cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do less than he? He should be fired,” he wrote Tuesday on X.
— This article is based in part on wire service reports.
