Russia agreed in principle to resume trilateral peace talks
Downing Street rejected Donald Trump’s chief negotiator Steve Witkoff’s description of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a humanitarian. A Downing Street spokesperson said: “We certainly do not recognise that characterisation, and President Putin has killed thousands of people, both innocent Ukrainians and his own Russian people, who he has sent to their deaths on the frontline.”
The spokesperson also said: “He is starving children and the elderly of the heat and warmth, and systematically targeting critical national infrastructure. Ukraine’s foreign minister summed it up well this morning when he said: ‘This night, the residents of Kyiv heard what Russian humanitarianism really sounds like.’”
Asked whether the government would make its argument directly to the U.S. administration, the spokesperson said: “We engage regularly at a range of levels with a range of partners on Ukraine, and I’m sure we will continue to do so.”
Downing Street’s remarks came after Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander told LBC that Britain viewed Putin as “somebody who illegally invaded Ukraine at the start of this conflict, who has been responsible for conduct by his government that included attempted assassinations on UK soil”. Alexander added: “We simply do not recognise the description of Vladimir Putin as a humanitarian.”
Witkoff met the Russian president at the Constantine Palace in St Petersburg on Wednesday as he sought a new push to end the invasion of Ukraine. The United States was putting pressure on Kyiv to agree to a settlement. In a Russian state media video clip posted on X, Witkoff told Putin: “You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also sir, and I salute that. I commend you.”
After Witkoff met Putin, Russia agreed in principle to resume peace talks with Ukraine and the United States. Donald Trump suggested that Russia and Ukraine were “maybe now the closest we’ve been” to ending the war.
Despite this, Russia continued to launch missile attacks at Ukraine, including a drone strike on Kharkiv as Putin and Witkoff spoke. A photograph credited to Ukrinform/Shutterstock showed firefighters amid the wreckage left by Russian strikes on Kyiv on Thursday.
Last week, Andy Burnham welcomed Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Downing Street and backed the Ukrainian president amid Trump’s criticism of Zelenskyy. Trump had suggested Zelenskyy should be replaced and declined to say whether Russia was responsible for the war.
The dispute developed from the same St Petersburg visit in which MSI previously reported that Russian authorities released Stephen Hubbard and Witkoff escorted him home. The earlier account recorded Witkoff’s thanks to Putin for Hubbard’s release and Witkoff’s description of Putin as a humanitarian; Downing Street’s rejection directly contests that statement.