Putin: The negotiating process on Ukraine is frozen

On 2 September, in the early hours of local time on 2 September, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a press conference before concluding his visit to Kyrgyzstan. With regard to the current negotiation process on Ukraine, Putin pointed out that any negotiations should have substantive content and that the current negotiating process on Ukraine was frozen. Putin also stated that the United States President ' s Special Envoy, Whitkov, and his son-in-law, Kushner, were always welcome people in Russia and that Russia was happy to cooperate with them. Referring to the front-line situation, Putin stated that the Russian army had been instructed to launch a large-scale attack on Ukrainian energy facilities. He said, "They will respond when they strike at our factory." Commenting on a recent visit to Moscow by the CIA Director-General, Putin stated that contacts between Russian and American intelligence services had always existed, even during the most difficult period of the cold war. (observed)