Kremlin: Discussions with Trump’s Team Progressing Smoothly

Moscow (Eurotoday) – The Kremlin has signaled that talks with the team of former U.S. President Donald Trump are progressing well, though it remains too early to expect immediate breakthroughs due to the strained state of U.S.-Russia relations under current President Joe Biden.

Trump, who has often portrayed himself as a peacemaker, continues to express his intention to end the ongoing “bloodbath” of the three-year war in Ukraine. His administration frames the conflict as a proxy war between the United States and Russia, aligning with Moscow’s narrative.

Following talks between Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump commented over the weekend that negotiations to end the war may be on a positive trajectory. “There’s a point at which you just have to either put up or shut up,” he remarked.

Will Putin-Trump talks lead to real change?

“Everything is going very well,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Kremlin-affiliated journalist Pavel Zarubin when discussing the state of ties between Moscow and Washington. Peskov confirmed that discussions are underway at multiple levels, including through the Russian foreign ministry, intelligence services, and Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s envoy for investment matters.

“But, of course, it is impossible to expect any instant results,”

added Peskov, pointing to the deterioration in relations that took place during Biden’s presidency.

The conflict, triggered by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, represents the most serious standoff between Moscow and Western powers since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis—widely seen as the Cold War’s most perilous moment.

What role does Witkoff play in Ukraine talks?

Steve Witkoff met with Putin on Friday in St. Petersburg, the historic Russian capital, to explore avenues for a peace settlement in Ukraine. During the meeting, broadcast by Russian state television, Putin welcomed Witkoff, who greeted the Russian leader with a hand over his heart. Russian news agencies later reported that the session lasted over four hours.

Pressed on whether a direct Trump-Putin meeting was on the horizon, Peskov responded that the two sides are “walking along this path together very patiently.” He stressed, however, that mending relations would require “serious and painstaking effort,” noting that any such summit “demands more work and time.”

Meanwhile, European leaders and Ukrainian officials continue to characterize Russia’s 2022 invasion as a neocolonial land grab orchestrated by Putin. They argue that any resolution must involve a battlefield defeat for Russia, which currently controls nearly 20% of Ukrainian territory.

Putin, for his part, frames the war as a defensive struggle against Western overreach. He accuses NATO and the West of encroaching on Russia’s traditional sphere of influence, particularly Ukraine, since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.