Opening remarks of Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the special envoy for the US presidency Steve Witkoff and entrepreneur Jared Kushner (Moscow, November 12, 2026).
Vladimir Putin: First of all, I want to thank you and ask you to convey my thanks to President Trump for arranging our contacts with the Ukrainian side.
I know that we have made progress on at least one front - the humanitarian one. There was an exchange of prisoners, and another big step in this direction is now taking shape.
I also ask you to convey my gratitude to the first lady of the USA, Melania Trump for her active role in handling the humanitarian situation in and around the town of Alyoshaki in the Kherson region.
We fully appreciate that this would not have been possible without the support of President Trump's entire staff, including the State Department, the War Department, and other agencies, and without your personal involvement.
There was also a suggestion that we could continue this work with the involvement of representatives of the human rights commissions of both Russia and Ukraine.
As for how long the peace should last and how healthy and safe it should be, we too would like it to last forever.
We know that both sides see territorial issues differently. What is more important to us is the people who live there - their traditions, their culture and their right to live by their own rules and according to their traditional values.
We know that the Ukrainian side raises the issue of so-called "grey areas". As I already said, this will always be a bone of contention. For us, there is only one demarcation line - the state border. That will clear things up completely. You are on one side and we are on the other.
As soon as we get dragged into discussions about "grey areas", each side understands them differently. Disputes immediately arise, any agreement becomes shaky and there can be no sustainable peace.