Newsletters
The Kremlin confirmed Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Tuesday afternoon to discuss a potential peace proposal for ending the war in Ukraine.
“Yes, indeed, a meeting with Witkoff is planned for tomorrow,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a press briefing. He added that the talks will take place in the afternoon and that footage of the meeting will be published. However, Peskov did not confirm whether an official statement would be released after the negotiations.
Peskov said Putin held several closed-door meetings Monday in preparation but declined to provide further details.
On Sunday, Fox News cited a U.S. official saying Witkoff would travel to Moscow to meet Putin and present a peace framework, following recent talks between U.S. and Ukrainian delegations in Florida. According to Ukrainian officials quoted by Axios, those discussions focused on a possible de facto border agreement with Russia.
Peskov declined to comment on whether the proposed peace deal includes a clause barring Ukraine from joining NATO. He also said that a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who arrived in Moscow on Monday for a two-day visit, is “not yet” scheduled.
He further noted that the Kremlin could not provide any information regarding the current whereabouts of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, amid reports suggesting he may be in Russia.
Peskov also addressed a weekend attack on infrastructure belonging to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) in the Russian port city of Novorossiysk, calling it “outrageous.”
“In this case, it is an outrageous situation, since we are talking about an object of international significance and with international participation,” he said.
Peskov reiterated Russian accusations that Ukraine was behind the attack but said the Kremlin had no information on whether an investigation had been launched.
The CPC confirmed that unmanned boats damaged one of its single-point moorings at the Novorossiysk terminal on Saturday, prompting authorities to halt all loading operations.
Russia formally accused Ukraine of carrying out the strike on Sunday. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova urged international condemnation, warning the incident threatened “freedom of navigation in this waterway.”
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry issued a protest on the same day, describing the incident as “another deliberate attack” and urging Ukraine to take “effective measures” to prevent future strikes.
Responding late Sunday, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said Kyiv had taken Kazakhstan’s concerns into account. He emphasized that Ukraine’s actions are not aimed at Kazakhstan or any third parties.
“All efforts of Ukraine are focused on repelling full-scale Russian aggression within the framework of the right to self-defense guaranteed by Article 51 of the UN Charter,” Tykhyi said.
2 min read
5 min read
