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President Vladimir Putin accepted some U.S. proposals aimed at ending the war in Ukraine and rejected others but that Russia was ready to meet U.S. negotiators as many times as it took to reach an agreement, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was speaking after talks in Moscow between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner went into the early hours of Wednesday morning, with a Kremlin aide saying afterwards that "compromises have not yet been found."
Asked if it would be correct to say that Putin had rejected the U.S. proposals, Peskov said that it would not.
"A direct exchange of views took place yesterday for the first time," Peskov said. "Some things were accepted, some things were marked as unacceptable - this is a normal working process of finding a compromise."
Peskov said that Russia was grateful to Trump for his efforts but that the Kremlin would not be giving a running commentary on discussions with the United States as publicity was unlikely to be constructive.
"Work is currently being carried out at a working expert level," Peskov said.
"It is at the expert level that certain results should be achieved that will then become the basis for contacts at the highest level."
A leaked set of 28 U.S. draft peace proposals emerged in November, alarming Ukrainian and European officials who said they bowed to Moscow's main demands.
European powers then came up with a counter-proposal, and at talks in Geneva, the U.S. and Ukraine said they had created an "updated and refined peace framework" to end the war.
Putin on Tuesday said European powers were trying to sink the peace talks by proposing ideas which were absolutely unacceptable to Russia.
Putin's foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters after the Witkoff talks that Moscow had previously received a 27-point set of proposals and then four additional documents which were discussed with Witkoff.
Putin last week said that the U.S. and Ukraine had divided up the initial proposals into four components. The exact contents have not been disclosed.
U.S. rapper Kanye West, now known as Ye, performed to a crowd of 118,000 people in Istanbul on Saturday night, marking his first concert in Europe in more than a decade, despite being barred from performing in several countries over past antisemitic remarks.
Iranian-made Yassin missiles were spotted mounted on Armenian Air Force fighter aircraft during Armenia's latest military parade on Thursday (28 May), drawing attention from defence observers and regional analysts.
The Philippines remains under a "severe threat" from China despite recent efforts by Washington and Beijing to ease tensions, Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Saturday (30 May).
Thai rescuers say five people have been pulled alive from a flooded cave in remote Laos, where seven villagers became trapped after heavy rain cut off access underground.
Russia has recalled its ambassador to Armenia for consultations, citing Yerevan's growing rapprochement with the European Union. The move is seen as the latest sign of deteriorating relations between the longtime allies ahead of Armenia's parliamentary election on 7 June.
South Africa's preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have suffered an unexpected setback after the national team failed to depart for Mexico as scheduled on Sunday (31 May) because some players and officials had not yet received their visas.
Five people have died after a mine shaft collapsed during an illegal mining operation in southwestern China, state media reported on Sunday (31 May), just days after the country's deadliest mining disaster in more than a decade claimed at least 82 lives.
Thousands of people gathered across Colombo on Saturday night (30 May) as Sri Lanka's capital came alive with light and colour for Vesak, one of the most important festivals in the Buddhist calendar.
The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) football team retained its Champions League title at Puskás Aréna in Budapest on Saturday night, after overcoming Arsenal 4-3 on penalties after a tense 1-1 draw following extra time.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is continuing to spread, with 263 confirmed cases and 43 deaths reported as of 30 May.
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