Putin repeats to Witkoff and Kushner joke about bedside table previously told by Yanukovych. VIDEO

Russian dictator Putin decided to tell a joke during a meeting with Trump’s special envoys Kushner and Witkoff.

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Fugitive president Viktor Yanukovych told the same joke to Ukrainian journalists in November 2013.

The Russian dictator used the joke to try to illustrate Europe’s position on Ukraine to Witkoff and Kushner.

According to Putin, Europe "must decide what it wants – peace or war in Ukraine".

The previous day, US presidential special envoy Jared Kushner said he would travel to Moscow the following day to meet Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Earlier, media reported that Witkoff and Kushner could travel to Kyiv and Moscow again.

On 10 November, US-mediated talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations took place in the UAE. This was the first such meeting since February 2026.
Before meeting with Russia, Ukraine held talks with representatives of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and the European Commission. US special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner also joined those talks.
The Ukrainian delegation, led by Foreign Intelligence Service chief Rustem Umerov, includes Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov, Servant of the People faction leader Davyd Arakhamiia, First Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Serhii Kyslytsia and Deputy Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Vadym Skibitskyi.
The Russian delegation is led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Representatives of two directorates of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Igor Kostyukov and Yuri Zhigarlovsky, and Russian Deputy Foreign Ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin will also take part in the meeting in Abu Dhabi.
NATO is represented in Abu Dhabi by Chief of Staff Geoffrey van Leeuwen, who is the chief strategic adviser to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The second day of talks, on 11 November, lasted just under two hours.
US special representative Jared Kushner said he would meet with Putin on 12 November, followed by a meeting with Zelenskyy.