ISTANBUL

The US is ready to take Russia's views into account for a settlement in Ukraine, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday, a day after American envoys met top officials in Moscow.

“The mood is positive, the Americans are ready to make every effort to achieve a long-term settlement, which, in fact, meets our goals,” Ushakov told reporters.

President Vladimir Putin met US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in Moscow on Tuesday for discussions on Washington’s revised draft peace plan for Ukraine.

After the meeting, Ushakov said talks in the Russian capital were “constructive, very useful, and informative,” adding that the five-hour discussions “thoroughly” covered a possible settlement for the over three-and-a-half-year war.

In Wednesday's presser, Ushakov said Russia is currently negotiating on the Ukraine war only with the US, and that both sides agreed not to disclose details of their contacts, which were held "behind closed doors."

Ushakov said the Russian side “frankly” expressed its views, and that Ukraine's future NATO membership was one of the key issues discussed.

“The progress and nature of the negotiations were, of course, influenced by the Russian army's successes on the battlefield in recent weeks. These developments themselves had a positive impact on the negotiations,” he added.

The aide said Russian soldiers, “through their military exploits,” have made Western assessments of the path to a peace settlement “more adequate.”

On Monday, chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov claimed Russia took control of the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, which serves as a critical logistics hub for Kyiv’s military operations in the eastern Ukrainian region.

He also claimed that Russian troops captured the town of Vovchansk in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region.

Ukraine’s General Staff denied the claims in a Tuesday statement, alleging they seek to “influence participants in international negotiations.”