Europe Asia News

During a meeting with security officials, Putin said that improving relations with the United States is now on the agenda. "We know that the new administration under President Trump is doing everything possible to restore at least part of what was essentially destroyed by the previous US administration," he said.

Putin also responded to Trump's call to save "thousands" of encircled Ukrainian soldiers, stating that he would consider it as long as the soldiers surrendered. However, no evidence has been presented to support claims of a large-scale encirclement of Ukrainian forces, and military leaders in Kyiv have outright rejected the claim.

The warm exchange of words between Trump and Putin may further raise concerns in Kyiv and European capitals, which are already wary of signs that the new US administration is leaning toward Moscow while putting pressure on Ukraine.

These statements came after a late-night meeting on Thursday between Steve Witkoff, Trump's close ally and special envoy for the Middle East, and Putin, where they discussed an immediate 30-day ceasefire proposal in the war against Ukraine.

Kyiv has already accepted the proposal, but on Thursday, Putin laid out a series of extensive conditions that must be met before Russia would agree to the ceasefire. These conditions include Ukraine neither rearming nor declaring mobilization during the 30-day ceasefire.

However, on Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social, saying there is a "very high probability" that the war between Russia and Ukraine will "finally come to an end."

Trump also urged Putin to spare the lives of the "thousands of Ukrainian soldiers" allegedly surrounded by the Russian army. Earlier this week, Putin claimed that Ukrainian forces had been encircled while retreating from Russia’s Kursk region and that they had the choice to "surrender or die."

Trump reiterated this claim, writing: "I strongly urged President Putin to spare their lives. This would be a horrific massacre unlike anything seen since World War II. God bless them all."