Russia is ready for a major war. Donald Trump says the situation is difficult. On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin met with Trump's envoy and son-in-law in Moscow for over four hours.
Negotiations on the war in Ukraine are in full swing. On Tuesday, US envoy Steve Witkoff landed in Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He is accompanied by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The two have been singled out as key to the peace deal between Israel and Hamas.
At 3 pm Norwegian time it was reported that Witkoff had arrived at the Kremlin. It was not until 5:30 pm that the meeting between Witkoff, Kushner and Putin had begun. At 10:30 pm, the Reuters news agency reported that the meeting was over. They refer to the Kremlin.
Putin's envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, describes the talks as productive, according to Reuters.
Discussed solutions to the crisis in Ukraine
“Peace is neither closer nor further away,” says Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy advisor.
Ushakov pointed out that the parties were unable to reach compromise on one of the most difficult issues: disputes concerning territory.
He says the talks were useful, constructive and meaningful. The advisor adds that during the meeting they discussed several options for a solution to the war in Ukraine.
– Putin asked Witkoff to convey a number of important political signals.
Ushakov says that at the meeting they agreed not to share the substance of the negotiations that took place.
– We are closer to resolving the crisis in Ukraine, but there is still a lot of work left.
Witkoff traveled directly from the meeting to the US Embassy in Moscow, according to the Ria news agency.
Ready for war against Europe
Shortly after Witkoff arrived at the Kremlin, Putin met with the press, saying that Europe's demands for a peace settlement for Ukraine are unacceptable to the Russians, and accused them of obstructing peace talks with the United States.
"But if Europe wants war, Russia is ready to fight now," Putin said, according to Reuters.
Associate Professor Lars Peder Haga at the Norwegian Air Force Academy believes that Russia may be capable of a war against Europe. But:
– It is certainly not something that would be desirable for them. They are already spending large resources on the war in Ukraine, without any particular progress. A new front is probably not something they want, he tells Aftenposten.
He believes Putin's statements cannot be interpreted as a further escalation.
– If you remember back to the start of the war in Ukraine, he made threats that there would be unforeseeable consequences if anyone interfered, and he made very thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons. In that sense, this is not an escalation, but it has been a while since he has made these types of statements.
He interprets Putin's statements as a sign of irritation that the negotiations on the peace settlement in Ukraine have not gone as Putin had hoped.
– Putin doesn't want to be left with blackmail, so now he's pointing at the Europeans and saying that they're the ones ruining the negotiations.
He says that today's meeting with Witkoff and Kushner is, among other things, about pointing out the European states as those who are destroying the negotiations.
– Unfortunately, it has been shown that Trump tends to side with Putin, and that they have an understanding of each other, says Haga.
Trump: A difficult situation
At the same time that Putin is sitting with Witkoff and Kushner, US President Donald Trump held a press conference. There he said the following about Ukraine:
– It is not a simple situation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during another press conference that he could see some optimism given the pace of the negotiations and US interest in the process.
When asked if he is afraid that the United States might lose interest, he says:
– Yes, I'm afraid of that.
