Russian FM: Putin ready to accept US concept for Ukraine settlement

Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with his American counterpart Donald Trump in Anchorage, confirmed Moscow’s readiness to accept the U.S. plan for resolving the conflict in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

In an interview with the Hungarian YouTube channel Ultrahang, Lavrov stated that before the Alaska summit, Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, brought Washington’s proposals on Ukraine to Moscow, which were carefully studied by the Russian side.

At the meeting itself, Putin went through each element of the concept in detail, verifying the information with Witkoff along the way.

"Everything was confirmed. After that, Putin stated that the Kremlin is ready to accept their concept and move forward in practical terms on the proposed basis," Lavrov said.

The 2025 Russia–United States Summit in Anchorage, held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, marked the first in-person meeting between Trump and Putin since 2019, focusing primarily on ending the Russo-Ukrainian War that began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Trump, who campaigned on swiftly resolving the conflict, initiated talks via a surprise February 12, 2025, phone call with Putin, followed by Rubio's meeting with Lavrov in Saudi Arabia later that month.

Trump's plan, outlined in a September 29, 2025, White House address, envisions a 30-day ceasefire leading to direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations, with U.S. guarantees for a demilitarized buffer zone in Donbas and Crimea, and sanctions relief tied to verifiable de-escalation.

By Khagan Isayev