Putin proposes peace terms amid crucial US negotiations

What do you need to know?

• Vladimir Putin presented the conditions for peace during a meeting with American envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg.
• The talks involved, among other things, the regions of Ukraine annexed by Russia and security protocols related to NATO.
• The USA is also negotiating with Iran to limit its nuclear programme and stabilise the region.

Witkoff, who on Friday held a four-and-a-half-hour meeting in St. Petersburg with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and spoke with his advisers, Yuriy Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, reported on his discussions in an interview with Fox News commentator Sean Hannity. He assessed that an agreement with Russia is "emerging," and Putin has presented his conditions for achieving lasting peace.

- "I mean it in the way that it took a while for us to get to this place —what Putin’s request is to get to have a permanent peace here. So beyond the ceasefire, we got an answer to that" - said President Trump's adviser.

Witkoff did not disclose what Putin demanded, but he stated that the peace agreement mainly concerns "those so-called five territories" - the regions of Ukraine annexed by Russia - as well as many other issues.

- "There’s security protocols, there’s no NATO [and] Article 5. It’s just a lot of detail attached to it. It’s a complicated situation from, you know, rooted in some real problematic things happening between the two countries," said Trump's envoy. He assessed, however, that the countries might be "on the verge of something that would be very, very important for the world at large"

- On top of that, I believe there’s a possibility to reshape the Russian-United States relationship through some very compelling commercial opportunities that I think give real stability to the region too. Partnerships create stability - he stated.

Witkoff also spoke in an interview on Fox News about his meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, in Oman. He outlined the conditions that the USA demands concerning the limitation of Iran's nuclear programme, suggesting that Trump does not insist on the complete closure of Tehran's installations. These include limiting the uranium enrichment level to 3.67% from the current 60%, which would represent a return to the conditions outlined in the JCPOA nuclear agreement, from which Trump withdrew during his first term.

Furthermore, Witkoff stated that meticulous verification of Iran's uranium enrichment programme and the missiles possessed by Iran is necessary.