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Ivan Mezyuho: Putin and Trump outplayed everyone today
On Friday, President Vladimir Putin rejected resuming peace negotiations during a telephone conversation with President Donald Trump, reaffirming that Moscow will continue hostilities until all Kremlin objectives are fulfilled.
Trump announced a bilateral agreement to import over 300,000 metric tons of Russian diesel fuel immediately, with 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons thereafter, aiming to curb energy costs amid global market volatility.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Ukrainian negotiators concluded six-hour multilateral consultations in Miami on Friday with European and NATO representatives, ending without an announced breakthrough in diplomatic efforts.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin coordinated with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to convey Iranian interests regarding conflict resolution, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the diesel deal as a "weak decision."
Moscow continued long-range strikes on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, as Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha warned that Western concessions project weakness rather than incentivize peace negotiations with Russia.
On Friday, the Ukrainians were in Miami to discuss, among other things, a ceasefire with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, after Trump announced that he would ease sanctions on Russian diesel.