Russia, US discuss Ukraine's NATO accession: Russian presidential aide

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin and US presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff discussed Ukraine's accession to NATO during their talks, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Wednesday.

Russia and the United States had reached a consensus, said Ushakov without elaborating.

Ushakov said that the successful progress made by the Russian army on the Ukrainian frontlines in recent weeks has enabled the West to form a more appropriate assessment of the situation.

Ushakov said that Russia has so far only engaged in negotiations with the United States over the Ukraine crisis.

He emphasized that Russia does not hold a negative stance toward engaging with Europe, but Europe has refused to cooperate.

Putin and Witkoff held a roughly five-hour meeting that ended after midnight on Wednesday. Ushakov described the meeting as "extremely useful, constructive and highly informative", saying that the two sides reviewed documents previously conveyed by the United States and agreed not to disclose the essence of the talks.