“Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed with understanding certain proposals from the American side for measures aimed at de-escalation,” declared Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, quoted by the Tass and Ria Novosti agencies.
He did not provide further details on the nature of these proposals, but indicated that a “large part” of the meeting between the two leaders focused on the question of an exit from the conflict.
Diplomatic efforts under American mediation to put an end to more than four years of Russian offensive in Ukraine are currently at an impasse.
The visit in September of American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow, then, for the first time, to kyiv, did not result in any concrete announcement.
A team of Ukrainian negotiators is in Miami, Florida, on Saturday to continue discussions with Washington that began the day before. National security advisers from France, Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as representatives from the European Union and NATO, were also invited.
At the same time, the American president announced on Friday that he had negotiated the delivery of massive quantities of Russian diesel to the American and world markets, to do so lifting sanctions weighing on Moscow and provoking the anger of kyiv.
The Ukrainian president denounced in the evening an “unworthy” and “weak” decision on the part of Washington which will have the consequence of allowing Moscow to continue to finance its offensive in Ukraine.
Moscow has intensified its strikes on Ukraine in recent months, causing increasing numbers of victims. Bombings notably left at least 15 dead in Zaporizhia in the south-east of the country on Saturday.
Ukraine has also intensified its strikes on Russia, which it describes as retaliation, targeting in particular hydrocarbon storage and transport infrastructure, commercial warehouses and data centers.
Donald Trump recently criticized Ukraine for driving up the price of diesel with its attacks on Russian refineries.
