The Russian and US presidents discussed holding direct talks with Kiev but no decision has been finalized, according to Yury Ushakov

No deal has been reached between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on the former holding talks with Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky or on a trilateral summit, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov stated on Monday.

Speculation of a possible Putin-Zelensky meeting arose in light of Trump's talks with Putin in Alaska, after which the US leader claimed he had "begun the arrangements" for such a meeting, which might later expand into a three-way summit.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in China on Monday, Ushakov confirmed that Putin and Trump had discussed raising the level of the negotiating team for direct talks between Moscow and Kiev, but stressed that no decision has been finalized.

"What the press reports is not what we agreed on. They often talk about a trilateral meeting, about a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, but there was no agreement on this between Putin and Trump," Ushakov said. He added that while the US delegation promised specific proposals on such meetings after Alaska, none have yet been made. The issue, he noted, remains under discussion.

According to Ushakov, the Ukraine conflict was a key topic in Putin's talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the SCO summit on Monday. He did not disclose details of those conversations.

Speaking earlier in the day, Putin said Moscow values the efforts of its strategic partners to end the hostilities, and promised to brief colleagues on his conversations with Trump during bilateral talks. The Russian leader stressed that any potential Ukraine peace deal would only hold if "the root causes of the crisis... [are] eliminated." He reiterated that one of the main causes of the conflict was the West's "attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO, which represent a direct threat to Russia's security."

(RT.com)