PUTIN: I WANT PEACE IN UKRAINE TO LAST FOREVER

MOSCOW, NOVEMBER 12 /SRNA – RIA Novosti/ - Russian President Vladimir Putin today received US President's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner at the Kremlin and expressed his wish at the beginning of the meeting for eternal peace to prevail in Ukraine.

Putin said that Moscow was aware that Ukraine was raising the issue of "grey zones," but stressed that, for Russia, "there is only one line of demarcation, and that is the state border".

The Russian leader asked Witkoff and Kushner to convey his gratitude to US President Donald Trump for facilitating contacts between Russia and Ukraine, as well as to his wife, Melania Trump, for her involvement in addressing the humanitarian issue in the city of Oleshky.

He also proposed organising a humanitarian mission in Kostiantynivka, modelled on a similar operation in Oleshky.

"Russia has never broken off dialogue with Europe; it was the Europeans themselves who did so," the Russian leader stressed.

He also expressed his wish for the Americans to hold talks with the Europeans to establish what they want – peace or war.

Regarding the presence of US forces in Ukraine, Putin reminded that Russia had consistently stated that the presence of foreign troops in Ukraine was unacceptable and posed a threat to Russia's national security, adding that such troops would therefore constitute legitimate targets for Russian armed forces.

Witkoff expressed satisfaction with the continuation of the work in a trilateral format.

The US President's special envoy and the American leader's son-in-law arrived in Moscow following trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US, held on November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi, where they represented Washington.