Trump says Putin wants to end Ukraine war as Moscow flags hurdles to US peace plan

US President Donald Trump has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin still wants to end the war in Ukraine, as Washington continues to push its revised draft peace plan.

"He would like to end the war," Trump told reporters at the White House.

He said he had spoken on Tuesday night with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, who held talks with Putin in Moscow.

"I can tell you that they had a reasonably good meeting with President Putin. We’re going to find out," he said.

"What comes out of that meeting I can’t tell you."

Trump said Russia "strongly" desired an agreement to end the conflict, describing the Moscow discussions as "a reasonably good meeting."

He added: "I can’t guarantee the results of that meeting, because it takes two to tango."

‘No compromise’

Witkoff and Kushner extended their discussions with Putin into the early hours of Wednesday, though no progress was announced toward a settlement.

The Kremlin said no "compromise" had been reached on issues it considers fundamental, including territorial concessions and Ukraine’s potential membership of NATO, which Moscow still views as a "central" concern.

The White House has been publicly optimistic about its plan to end what it calls Europe’s worst conflict since the Second World War.

But that optimism appeared to dim on Wednesday after Moscow said it found some elements of the revised plan "unacceptable."

Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser who took part in the talks, said recent gains by Russian forces had shaped the atmosphere of the discussions.

"The progress and nature of the negotiations were influenced by the successes of the Russian army on the battlefield in recent weeks," he told reporters.

"Through their military achievements, our soldiers have contributed to making our foreign partners’ assessments of possible paths to a peaceful settlement more favourable."

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Source: TRT