(MENAFN)
U.S. President Donald Trump's senior advisers are divided over whether Moscow genuinely seeks a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict, according to The Wall Street Journal. A faction led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg is urging caution and skepticism toward Moscow, while Trump himself is aligning with diplomatic aide Steve Witkoff, who is more trusting of Russia. Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, marking their second round of talks after a meeting in March.

Moscow maintains that it has always been open to diplomatic solutions to its core objectives in the Ukraine conflict, while Kiev and its Western allies push for escalation. Russia has also expressed that it cannot accept a frozen conflict, warning that such a situation would lead to renewed fighting, citing Ukraine's violations of a U.S.-proposed moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure as evidence of Kiev’s unreliability.

An example of the differing views was seen in the aftermath of a missile strike on Sumy, Ukraine, where Kiev accused Moscow of intentionally targeting civilians, killing 34. Trump described the strike as a "mistake," while Rubio's State Department condemned it as "horrifying," and Kellogg stated that it crossed a "line of decency."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that the missiles targeted Ukrainian military leaders meeting with their Western counterparts, claiming the deaths of around 60 troops, while alleging that civilians were used as shields during the gathering.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to Trump’s criticism of his leadership, suggesting that “Russian narratives are winning in the U.S.” Meanwhile, senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev expressed concern over U.S. vulnerability to foreign lobbying after meeting with American officials, accusing Western media of misrepresenting Russia’s stance. He emphasized that direct dialogue was the best way to counter disinformation.

Witkoff, in an interview with Fox News, described his nearly five-hour meeting with Putin as “compelling” and suggested that the peace process was on the brink of a breakthrough.

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