Putin meets Trump envoys as Kremlin clamps down on Ukraine settlement

Russian President Vladimir Putin held marathon overnight talks with U.S. President Donald Trump’s emissaries in Ukraine, stressing the Kremlin’s need to resolve regional issues to reach a peace deal.

The Kremlin meeting, which lasted until 3 a.m. on Friday, came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply criticized his European partners on Thursday for their slow and fragmented response to Russia’s nearly four-year full-scale invasion, which he said had left Ukraine at the mercy of Putin for US peace.

Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, who attended Putin’s meeting with Trump ambassadors Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, said it was reaffirmed that “there can be no hope of a long-term solution without resolving the regional issue,” referring to Moscow’s demands that Russia withdraw from its territory illegally in Kwest. But never fully captured.

After meeting with Trump in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Zelensky said the future status of the territory in eastern Ukraine currently occupied by Russia remains unresolved, but peace proposals are “almost ready”.

On a positive note, Ushakov told reporters that Russian, Ukrainian and US officials had agreed to hold talks on security issues related to a possible peace deal in the United Arab Emirates on Friday.

Ushakov noted that Trump’s envoys briefed Putin on Trump’s meeting with Zelensky, as well as previous discussions with Ukrainian and European officials. The Kremlin described the talks, which began just before midnight in Moscow and lasted about four hours, as “clear, constructive” and “productive”.

Wittkoff and Kushner were joined by Federal Acquisition Service chief Josh Gruenbaum, who serves as a senior adviser on Trump’s board of peace, which invited Russia to join. While Russia was considering the invitation, Putin reaffirmed his offer to send $1 billion to the board from Russian assets deposited in the U.S. to help rebuild Gaza.

Asked about Putin’s proposal to use Russia’s frozen assets for contributions to the Peace Council, Trump said that was fine. “If he’s using his money, that’s great,” he said

Trump meets with Zelensky

Zelensky met with Trump behind closed doors for about an hour at the World Economic Forum in Davos, calling the meeting “productive and meaningful.”

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Davos, Trump said his meeting with Zelensky went well, adding that both Putin and Zelensky wanted to reach an agreement and that “everyone is making concessions” to try to end the war.

He said the talking points remained the same during the talks held in the last six or seven months, noting that “boundaries” were the main issue. “The main hold-up is the same things that have been holding it back for the past year,” he said.

Since the start of hostilities in 2014 and a full-scale offensive in 2022, Russia’s massive military has managed to capture about 20% of Ukraine. But gaining ground along a nearly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line has been costly for Moscow, and the Russian economy is feeling the war’s consequences.

Ukraine is short of money and, having significantly increased its own arms production, still needs Western weapons. It is also short-handed on the front line. Its defense minister reported last week that nearly 200,000 troops had deserted and nearly 2 million Ukrainians were draft-dodging.

Zelenskyy blasts European allies

Addressing the World Economic Forum after his meeting with Trump, Zelensky listed a litany of grievances and criticisms of Europe.

European countries, which see their future defenses at stake in the war on its eastern flank, have offered financial, military and humanitarian aid to Kiev, but not all members of the 27-nation European Union are cooperating. Ukraine has also been frustrated by political disagreements within Europe over how to deal with Russia, as well as the bloc’s sometimes slow responses.

“Europe seems lost,” Zelensky said in his speech, urging the continent to become a global power. He contrasted Europe’s response to Washington’s bold moves in Venezuela and Iran.

The former comedian mentioned the movie “Groundhog Day,” in which the main character must relive the same day over and over again.

“Last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words: Europe needs to know how to defend itself. A year has passed. And nothing has changed. We are still in a situation where I have to say the same words again,” Zelensky said.

He chided Europe for being slow to act on major decisions, spending too little on defense, failing to stop Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers breaking international sanctions and not using its frozen assets in Europe to finance Ukraine.

More talks on UAE

Zelensky said that the tripartite meeting of the United States, Ukraine and Russia will begin on Friday in the United Arab Emirates.

“The Russians have to be ready for a deal because, you know, everybody has to be ready, not just Ukraine, and that’s important for us,” he said.

Kremlin aide Ushakov has confirmed that the Russian delegation will participate in the meeting to be held on Friday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. He added that at the Kremlin meeting, the US would “open up possibilities to move forward on all issues to end the conflict and reach a peaceful solution.”

Ushakov said that the Russian delegation will be led by the head of military intelligence, Adam Igor Kostyukov. He added that Putin’s ambassador, Kirill Dmitriev, would hold separate talks with Witkoff on economic issues in Abu Dhabi.

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Hrabchuk reported from Kiev, Ukraine and Manenkov from Davos, Switzerland. Josh Bock in Air Force One, Meg Kinard in Houston and Ali Swenson in Washington contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine