Putin briefs Belarus, Kazakhstan leaders on Trump summit, calls talks ‘useful’ for Ukraine peace

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday spoke with the leaders of Belarus and Kazakhstan to share details of his meeting with US President Donald Trump, which Moscow has described as an important step toward resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

The Alaska summit, the first US-Russia meeting at this level in more than four years, was followed by consultations with senior Russian officials in the Kremlin on Saturday. Putin called the discussions “timely and very useful,” saying both sides explored the possibility of ending the war on what he termed a “fair basis” while addressing its underlying causes.

”We have not had direct negotiations of this kind at this level for a long time. I repeat once again: there was an opportunity to calmly and in detail once again set out our position,” Putin told Russian officials.

”We, of course, respect the position of the American administration, which sees the need for a speedy end to military action. Well, we would also like this and would like to move on to resolving all issues by peaceful means.”

The press service of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Putin had discussed the talks in Alaska.

”Putin informed his Belarusian counterpart in detail about the results of the last Russia-US summit,” the Lukashenko’s press service said.

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s press service said that Russia-U.S. talks ”contributed to a better understanding of the American side of the Russian position on Ukraine.”