Vladimir Putin has said that the outline of a draft peace plan discussed by the US and Ukraine could serve as a basis for future negotiations to end the war \u2013 but insisted Ukraine would have to surrender territory for any deal to be possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements,\u201d Putin said, noting that the version of the plan discussed by Washington and Kyiv<\/a> in Geneva had been shared with Moscow.<\/p>\n \u201cWe see that the American side takes our position into account in some areas,\u201d he added. \u201cBut in other points, we clearly need to sit down and talk.\u201d<\/p>\n The Russian president\u2019s uncompromising remarks \u2013 in which he again described Volodymyr Zelenskyy as \u201cillegitimate\u201d \u2013 suggested that, despite White House optimism, there is little sign of movement on the core sticking points needed to end the war.<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters during a working visit to Kyrgyzstan, Putin said Russia would halt its offensive only if Ukrainian forces withdrew from unspecified areas currently under Kyiv\u2019s control. \u201cIf Ukrainian troops leave the territories they occupy, then we will stop fighting,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they don\u2019t, we will achieve our aims militarily.\u201d<\/p>\n He also repeated his claim that Ukraine\u2019s leadership was \u201cillegitimate\u201d, arguing that this made it legally impossible to sign a binding agreement with Kyiv and that any future settlement would require broader international recognition.<\/p>\n Putin confirmed that the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, would travel to Russia early next week, and dismissed accusations that Witkoff had shown bias towards Moscow during peace discussions, calling them \u201cnonsense\u201d.<\/p>\n Witkoff, a longtime Trump business associate and property developer, has faced criticism in Europe and the US after a leaked phone call revealed him advising a senior Kremlin aide<\/a> on how Putin should handle negotiations with Trump.<\/p>\n